Ok, I'll bite.
During the FLA competition which eventually was won by the A400M, a derivative of the An-70 was considered but the issues raised above (certification, spares support etc. ) ruled it out.
RoyalistFlyer said "If the MoD found a few competent people to keep a very tight rein on BAE there is no reason for costs to get out of hand as they have with F-35."
I was present ( as possibly was Tucumseh) in the mid-90s, when the then CDP, Sir Robert Walmsley stated in a Town Hall address at Shabbywood that there was no place in his Procurement Executive for technical experts. That's when the rot set in, and contractorisation for technical expertise took over, and in-house competence declined.