The Norwegian test pilot is employed by the program, so he does have a stake in the future of the aircraft and that should be taken into account when evaluating his comments and opinions. BTW, his paper was originally published in the Norwegian JSF program office blog before being republished with permission in the Aviationist blog. Dr. Gilmore's independent department has a larger role overseeing the program: its inspectors monitor its progress in meeting production and performance specifications, and will eventually conduct/monitor tests to verify that production representative aircraft meet those specs (up until now, DOT&E mostly relies on JPO data because OT&E tests have not yet taken place.) He has no personal or professional stake in its success or failure; his function is to ensure the government gets what it pays for. To its credit, the JPO almost always concurs with DOT&Es factual findings (it is JPO data,) yet sometimes differs on timeframes to correct deficiencies. Both entities have been wrong on those predictions.