I personally don't think so. To be honest if it wasn't a jobs program (a charge that can probably be leveled at the majority of weapon systems in development right now...at least by critics) it would be canceled.
But the business model is most annoying. Airbus has for years waited for Boeing to develop aircraft and then plus sized them. They did it with the 767 vs. the A330. They did it with the 737 vs. the A320 and they're doing it with the 787 vs. the A350.
Fortunately for Lockheed Martin that same thinking isn't working in the competition for military orders. The A400 will probably force Airbus out of the military aircraft market. Boeing wins in the end.
I think you made a typo there, it's only a few million short of the C-17, yet because it is overweight (like every other modern development aircraft funnily enough) it's airlift capacity is now down to less than half that of the C-17...
ReplyDeleteC-130J is killing it in attracting new orders because of price and availability for severely affected inventories. Just like the Eurocanards, which continue to be outsold by teen series fighters (F-16's predominantly) A400m is bringing too little too late to the plate for most customers, apart from those who set up these individual programs.
It's going to be interesting seeing how many airframes it ends up selling, especially given KC-390 is going to be entering the market in a few years at the lower end of the scale...
Another thing that could kill it is the An-70. If that thing ever gets into service that is.
ReplyDeletethe new tale of austerity...interestingly enough its being led by Germany, being readily adopted by Australia, being accepted by UK and the US will be led kicking and screaming toward it (with France it seems)....but its worldwide and defense budgets worldwide are shrinking....i can't wait to see how this plays out.
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