Some items of 'obvious' interest to me are excerpted below from - plenty more in the 107Kb PDF at URL...
DR. J. MICHAEL GILMORE, DIRECTOR, OPERATIONAL TEST AND EVALUATION, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE; BEFORE THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE 19 Jun 2013
"...The program has also dedicated 42 flights to investigating deficiencies in the helmet mounted display system. Seven aircraft from all three variants flew test missions from October 2012 through May 2013 to investigate jitter in the helmet mounted display system, night vision camera acuity, latency in the Distributed Aperture System projection, and light leakage onto the helmet display under low-light conditions. Although some progress has been achieved, results of these tests have been mixed according to comments from the test pilots. Testing could not be completed within the full operational flight envelope evaluating mission-related tasks, as the full combat flight envelope has not been released. Filters for reducing the effects of jitter have been helpful, but have introduced instability, or “swimming,” of the projected symbology. Night vision acuity was assessed as not acceptable with the current night vision camera, but may be improved with the ISIE-11 camera under consideration by the program. Latency with the Distributed Aperture System projection has improved from earlier versions of software, but has not yet been tested in operationally representative scenarios. Light leakage onto the helmet display may be addressed with fine-tuning adjustments of the symbology brightness - a process pilots will have to accomplish as ambient and background levels of light change. Although not an objective of the dedicated testing, alignment and “double vision” problems have also been identified by pilots and were noted in my report earlier this year on the F-35A Ready for Training Operational Utility Evaluation (OUE). Whether the progress achieved in resolving the problems discussed immediately above has been adequate will likely not be known with confidence until the Block 2B operational evaluation is conducted in 2015...."
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"...Ship Integration
The program plans to conduct the second set of ship trials with two F-35B test aircraft in August 2013. Test objectives for this deployment include conducting night operations, carrying stores, evaluating the carrier landing system, and expanding the take-off and vertical landing envelope for varying wind-over-deck conditions and for a broader range of aircraft weight and center of gravity conditions. Flying qualities with an updated version of control software, based on data taken during the first deployment, will be assessed. Two SDD test aircraft will be operated by program test pilots during the test. Minimal changes to USS Wasp are anticipated, as this will be the second deployment to the ship. Some restrictions to the electromagnetic environment on the ship may be necessary as a result of the electromagnetic environmental effects testing on the aircraft. The logistics support environment will not be representative of fleet operations; rather, it will be similar to that used in the first ship trials in 2011 that employed workarounds to reach back to land-based systems and personnel as necessary to sustain operations.
The test center also plans to train additional test pilots to be qualified in STOVL operations for the deployment, and for conducting land-based work-up maneuvers...."
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"...The program intends to conduct the first set of carrier-based ship trials with two F-35C test aircraft in the summer of 2014. The prerequisite activity with the aircraft leading up to the sea-borne trials is extensive. The new arresting hook system – which has yet to start the planned verification, structural, or durability testing – will have to be installed on both aircraft, and shore-based roll-in testing and hook engagement testing completed with one aircraft, which will compose approximately six months of testing. An improved nose landing gear drag brace, required for catapult launches, will also be a part of the pre-deployment set of modifications. Both aircraft will need to undergo electromagnetic environmental effects testing prior to deployment. For the carrier, the Department of the Navy is working integration issues that will need to be resolved prior to the first operational deployment, but will not necessarily be solved prior to the first set of ship trials. Examples of integration issues include storage of the lithium-ion batteries on the carrier, resupplying engines while underway, and integration of the autonomic logistics information system. Some initial noise and thermal effects testing have been completed at land-based test facilities, and will be a part of the test activity during the first ship trial period. Modifications of the jet blast deflector system on the carrier may be necessary prior to the ship-borne trials to ensure adequate cooling of the deflector during JSF operations...."
http://elpdefensenews.********.com.a...ent-needs.html PDF download 107Kb
OR
Eric Palmer blog: Senate testimony--F-35 development needs more money-time