Line Marine Corps pilots flying six F-35Bs completed the first shipboard Operational Test period aboard the USS Wasp (LHD-1) from 18-29 May 2015. Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Aviation Jon Davis called the testing “highly successful.” During the evaluation, ten pilots from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121) at MCAS Yuma, Arizona, and Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 (VMFAT-501) at MCAS Beaufort, South Carolina, flew 85.5 hours on 108 sorties. Three pilots qualified for night operations. An F135 engine module was flown out to the ship on an MV-22. Davis also noted the Thermion coatings applied to the deck of the Wasp to make it more resilient to engine exhaust during vertical landings and a deployable version of the Autonomic Logistics Information System, or ALIS, both worked well.
