Bernie Sanders supports the F-35 because there are 3 suppliers in his state with a total of $128.8 million in supply contracts related to construction of the F-35.  Lockheed Martin has been very careful to spread the economic windfall around to as many congressional districts as possible.  18 states have supply contracts of over 100 million, and only 4 States (including Alaska) have no supply contracts at all - so the Pentagon has to roll us into the fold with F-35 basing plans.  These geographically diversified supply contracts have to be the most uneconomical model possible, but it greases all the right palms so that congress will never cut it no matter how much of a boondoggle it is.