The C17 is/was a lease agreement and is/was dominated by Boeing's methods of maintenance and maintenance management - not the RAF's (I believe this is still so) And very productive it has been too. It should be held as an example of how the RAF's ancient and traditional methods can be replaced by something that works - and, many would say, works very well indeed.
Another project to look at is the US Army's Lakota Helicopter Project where 300+ helicopters were bought "Off The Shelf" from BBK/Eurocopter.
Even if there are misgivings about how the EC145 variant performs the reason they were purchased was to be able to flood any "Homeland" (how I dislike that word!) incidents with usable cheap ANG/Reserve Service helicopters that can do a job of work. That purchase was not about replacing the Huey but supplying a lot of helicopters from already produced commercial stock.
That purchase is proof that the military dont need everything made especially for them, and that some things are already useful tools - even without modification.
I know of many other operators who have put much, much more mods onto their EC145 aircraft - and I'm not talking about leather seats and ashtrays.