Joint strike fighter

The Gen 3 HMDS helmet already looks intimidating and futuristic

Aircraft

$400,000 helmet turns fighter jets transparent for 360-degree vision

Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II is the most expensive military fighter plane ever produced at US$109 million per craft plus $6.6 million in annual operational costs – and the helmet you need to fly it is one of the most impressive features.

The 2016 Farnborough Airshow saw more than US$100 billion in orders recorded ... and some spectacular action in the skies

Aircraft

Highlights from the 2016 Farnborough Airshow

The engines have been powered down after another Farnborough International Airshow. Not even foul weather could put a dampener on proceedings, with the Boeing 737 MAX and Lockheed Martin F-35 both making their airshow debut under grey skies.

The F-35A Lightning II completed the first three airborne gunfire bursts from its internal Gun Airborne Unit (GAU)-22/A 25mm Gatling gun system

Military

F-35A Lightning II fires guns in flight for the first time

A Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft has fired its machine guns for the first time while airborne during tests over Edwards Air Force Flight Test Center's gun harmonizing range in California.

The F-35B test took place on a mock-up ski jump at Naval Air Station in Maryland on June 19

Aircraft

F-35B makes first ski-jump launch

The Royal Navy (RN) is a step closer to getting a fighter wing for its new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers as the British Ministry of Defence announced that an F-35B Lightning II made a successful take off from a ski-jump.