I'd suggest the FJ sqns were pared down to foot the enormous bill the phenomenally expensive F35 buy. C17s were leased/bought to fill the enormous gap in the AT heavy lift capability that had been conveniently ignored until enduring operations (and the government and public) demanded it. The A400 was a political/industrial purchase pure and simple that was bought into before we ended up with the very capable C17 fleet. Delayed/unavailable A400 capabilities has meant the extension of the C130 fleet by over 10 years. A330s were PFI'd because it was a politically easy, off-the-books deal that allowed the replacement of an utterly decrepit wide body AT/AAR fleet that had been ignored for decades. A direct purchase would've seriously dented that F35 budget....