The A-400 claims lower operational costs. I would not want to pay the refueling bill on either, but a C-17 burns more fuel.
Indeed. But the 6-8 billion it took to develop the A400 would have bought a LOT of fuel. I doubt that the program development costs could possibly be justified by the lower operating costs even if the A400 used zero fuel. If operating costs were a significant driver, C-130 would be far cheaper to buy and operate, and when you needed more capacity, you could rent it from the Russians, Americans, SAC, UK, and others who have longer legged, larger capacity airlift. Bottom line: IMO there's a LOT more at work here than lower operating costs.