Woops, i was thinking of Airbus.
But at the end of the day, with A300 and 330, and the scrap of Hercules, Tri's and VC-10, we will be maintaining a more capable air force for possibly less money, for more time.
Although our fleet will be smaller, so will our role after Afghanistan as far as the SDR is concerned. On top of that, looking at the buying price isnt very revealing, you have to look at the price to maintain it for the next 3 decades, compared to how much we would be likely to spend keeping our current lot air worthy with upgrades.
It may have been a stupid choice to go with the A330 and then have to spend a whole load extra, but we're stuck with it now and theres no other direction to go. Im sure in the long run it will end up cheaper to keep in the sky.