Death Spiral. US Navy takes out the fork for the F-35.

Stick a fork in it.

A common saying that everyone uses.  It usually signals that the gig is up, the game is over, the turkey is cooked....

In the case of the F-35, it means that the death spiral is officially here.  via Aviation Week.

The U.S. Navy has reduced its planned buys of the Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter by almost one-third over the fiscal 2016-2020 Future Years Defense Program (FYDP), while committing almost $800 million to new standoff weapon developments and canceling the only missile program that was primarily dedicated to the F-35C. All the new developments are part of the fiscal 2016 presidential budget proposal and constitute the first move by a U.S. service to slow down its JSF procurements.
This year’s budget buys four F-35Cs, including two added late in 2014 by the lame-duck Congress. The Navy now plans to buy another four aircraft each in FY2016 and 2017. The rate ramps up slowly in the final three years of the FYDP, peaking at 12 aircraft in FY2020 and buying 38 F-35Cs in the plan period. The FYDP includes 83 F-35Bs for theMarine Corps, unchanged from earlier years.
Under 2015 plans the Navy would have bought 54 F-35Cs in the FY16-20, with F-35C production reaching 20 per year in 2020. 19. The JSF Program Office states that “the Navy’s commitment to the program remains strong” and that it expects the Navy’s cutbacks to be offset by international JSF procurements.”

The program office said what I never thought I would ever hear.

"...the Navy's cutbacks..."

That should send chills down the spines of this airplanes supporters.  Long story short?  I was right, you were wrong.  The death spiral is here and the Navy's commitment might be strong in word but not in budget.