An F-35C Lightning II test aircraft is launched for the first time from the new electromagnetic aircraft launch system, or EMALS, at NAF Lakehurst, New Jersey, on 18 November 2011. Lt. Christopher Tabert was the pilot for the milestone launch. Initial carrier trials for the F-35C are scheduled for 2013. The F-35C is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River and at Lakehurst. EMALS will first be installed on the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), which is now nearly thirty percent complete and will be delivered in 2015. EMALS will expand the operational capability of the Navy's future carriers by permitting higher sortie rates and reduced costs compared to legacy systems.
