Ken
The original plan was for a fleet of A400M & C130J which would have handled pretty much everything we needed to move with the C17s leased for the duration of Herrick & Telic.
That's not quite true. The C130J was procured as the Hercules Rolling Replacement Tranche One; the intention was for it to be replaced by A400m as this was seen as the "final solution". As the C130J couldn't fill the "heavy" requirement, a competition was held to find a lease solution for Hercules Rolling Replacement Tranche Two, which became a fight between the An-124 and the C17. Eventually a lease of four C17s was agreed, but the advent of Telic and then Herrick rapidly made their purchase, and more besides, a "no brainer".
So as the "Rolling Replacement" has now become permanent, in my mind, the real question now is, "do we need A400m at all"?
