Sorry. I should have been more specific and used the word "vulnerability" rather than "survivability".
The Harrier is a product of the nadir era of vulnerability, when the assumption was that if you were going to be hit by anything, it would be the size of a Hawk or a Bloodhound, or at least a Sparrow. Goodnight nurse.
After VN experience, vulnerability was reinstated and mandated as a specifiable requirement, analysis techniques were invented and matured, and LFT&E techniques were developed to test that systems met those specs.
F-35 LFT&E, with which the DOT&E is concerned, is about showing that the F-35 meets the vulnerability requirement that the contractor signed up to meet. It therefore has the cube root of ****-all to do with the Harrier, stealth or supersonic flight.
F-14D - DOT&E (p45) is quite specific. "Conversion to STOVL flight puts high loads on the quickly accelerating system components that can result in catastrophic failure before the pilot can return to wing-borne flight."
By the way, one result of vulnerability specs has been some remarkably tough aircraft (see photo); clearly this isn't weapon damage, but redundant systems, routing and check valves all play a part.
