$400,000 helmet for F-35: Has Russia and China surpassed the US in their ability to modernize their militaries?

I know we have dressed down the F-35 on a number of occasions but I just saw this article and see a very familiar narrative - "if you find problems we try to fix them", "when working correctly", and most concerning the statement from Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley "Simply put, there is no alternative to the F-35 program. It must succeed," With only 47 produced, none working as designed, and with China's J-20 and Russia's T-50 to be on their flight lines by 2016 what is going on with America's ability to get'er done.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/04/02/f-35-pilots-to-wear-400000-helmets-that-can-see-through-plane/?intcmp=sem_outloud