To be fair, C-17 cant do unprepared strip work of the sort A400M can.
Its a small price to pay IMHO, when as you state above, the cost differential for a400M and C17.
Would like to see a comparison of operating cost. Also interesting to note with QE2 about to set sail in the US of A, the UK "price" of C-17 is coming down quite nicely at the moment. If we dont bother with another reinflation in the UK, we might even be able to get the unit cost down to £125 mill a pop!
Still want a go on A400M though!