Luke AFB changes refueling truck color, mitigates F-35 shutdowns
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And here is a comment by someone who knows a lot more than I do.
Fuel temperature is an important parameter for an aircraft because excessive vapors in the tanks can be problematic.
Other jet fighters have fuel temperature warnings (eg. F/A-18 is triggered above 65 degrees Celsius.) so your claim of "over engineered" F-35 is misguided.
Remember TWA 800? The fuel in the center tank vaporized and the jet exploded.
The Luke AFB crews are being appropriately cautious and implementing an appropriate temporary solution.
The f-35 Looks like a jack of all trades, but a master of none.
The big factual error is comparing the F-35 turning performance to an airshow F-16. An F-16 with external tanks and combat loads (missiles and bombs) doesn't turn as well an F-35.
The other big factual error is that Perre Spey seems to confuse program unit cost or total lifecycle cost with flyaway unit cost when comparing alternatives. The Pentagon demanded an analysis of the F-35 lifecycle cost, but without comparing it to contemporary aircraft like the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. An F/A-18E costs around $72m Unit Flyaway Cost, and an F-35A is about $95m in full rate production.
The F-35 has considerable advantages like 360 degree EODAS, which enables off-boresight missile shots, while avoiding hostile fire. It might not be a classic Mach 2+ interceptor like the F-15 or F-22, but it'll do fine in a dogfight.
"The white paint is special because it is a solar polyurethane enamel that reflects the heat of the sun's rays. Interestingly, after dropping off the first truck to be painted, the 56th LRS learned it is not the color that reflects the heat."
"The painter said it did not have to be a white color, so we are going to send one of the four vehicles to get painted green, if possible. We will then compare temperatures between the green and white trucks."
But what color are they going to paint the shades?