So what happens when the gear is up? The 'Luneberg Lens' are removable and only temporary. I'll look for a photo. Certainly there is a discussion on F-16.net about this some years back now. AFAIK the F-22 has these devices to use when needed. These devices are easily removable and when removed LO restored.
In the mean time here is a precise overview of the need for JPALS and the F-35C:
EMALS TESTING
Carrier Launch System Passes Initial Tests Jun 7,
2010 By Bill Sweetman
http://www.anahq.org/articles/Bullhorns/Bullhorn76July152010.htm#F35"...The carrier will be part of the process of introducing a landing guidance system to the Navy: the Joint Precision
Approach and Landing System (Jpals). It will be one of the first ships with Jpals, which is slated to be on all
carriers and large amphibious transports by 2018. The second Ford-class ship, CVN-79, is due to be the first
carrier without SPN-41 and SPN-46 radars, which provide carriers with an automatic landing capability.
Adoption of Jpals is urgent for the Navy because current radars will not be supportable after the early 2020s.
Jpals is also associated with the
F-35C, because the fighter's reduced radar cross-section means that current
radar-based autolanding systems cannot acquire it. The installation of Jpals on carriers will match service entry
of the F-35C.
The first increment of Jpals will be qualified for flight guidance down to 200 ft. and 0.5-mi. visibility. Accuracy is
intended to be sufficient for an automatic landing, and that capability is being demonstrated as part of the
Northrop Grumman X-47B Navy Unmanned Combat Air System program.
The key to its accuracy is shipboard-relative GPS, which uses two GPS receivers-one forward of the island on
the starboard side and the other on the portside stern. The space between the sensors and their relative
location allows the system to measure the position of the ship accurately and track its movement-speed, pitch,
roll and heave-with the aid of three Northrop Grumman LN -270 inertial reference units. Using the same
differential GPS technique, Jpals also provides an accurate aircraft position. A data link allows the system to
transmit automatic landing guidance."