The U.S. Navy conducted the first arrested landing of an F-35C Joint Strike Fighter carrier variant on November 3. Cmdr. Tony Wilson, a Navy test pilot, landed test aircraft CF-03 on the flight deck of the carrier USS Nimitz off the coast of San Diego after flying from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.

The first arrested landing came at the start of initial at-sea developmental testing of the F-35C, which is expected to last for two weeks. The carrier testing involves test aircraft CF-03 and CF-05, both fitted with a redesigned tail hook after problems with the initial design delayed carrier testing. This is the first of three at-sea test phases planned for the F-35C.

In May last year, the Navy said it planned to declare initial operational capability of the carrier variant by February 2019. The F-35 Joint Program Office said the first arrested landing “reinforces Navy-industry partnership goals to deliver the operational aircraft to the fleet in 2018.”

“Today is a landmark event in the development of the F-35C,” said Wilson, who is attached to the Navy’s VX-23 Air Test and Evaluation Squadron based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. “It is the culmination of many years of hard work by a talented team of thousands. I'm excited to see America’s newest aircraft on the flight deck of her oldest aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz.”