Brexit shadow looms over Farnborough Airshow

The military has always been an important part of the Farnborough Airshow and things are no different this year, with the so-called 'Red Arrows' — pilots of the Royal Air Force (RAF) — providing a stylistic and colorful diversion in the air.

All eyes were on Gavin Williamson, the British Secretary of State for Defence, when he arrived at the show. His presence turned the focus away from aircraft to the thorny subject of Brexit and Britain's future relationship with Europe.

'The Tempest' is not just a famous play by William Shakespeare; it is also the name of a new fighter jet introduced at the airshow by Williamson. It will replace the Eurofighter model and is being hailed as a fine example of British innovation at an event in which the organizers are eager to promote British exceptionalism.

US aircraft builder Boeing is showing at this year's event that it produces not just civilian aircraft but machines for transportation. This model, a Boeing 747-8F, is apparently capable of carrying quite a load, whether it be SUVs or tanks.

Boeing's European rival Airbus is also proudly displaying its wares, civilian and otherwise, in Farnborough this year. Here, Airbus CEO Tom Enders and British Prime Minister Theresa May chat in front of a massive Airbus A400M Atlas.

Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft maker, is known for making a lot of small commercial aircraft, like its Canadian rival Bombardier. However, as seen with the Transporter Embraer KC390 (pictured), it also likes to go big on occasion.

This is a CS300 from Bombardier. However, because of Bombardier's huge deal with Airbus, this model will now be marketed as the Airbus A220-300. In this picture, the airBaltic plane (a Bombardier CS300 from before the re-brand) flies over the newly named Airbus.