FLIPFOPMAN,
Your experience is a lot more recent than mine, though I did photograph the early GR7's, and Wittering were kind enough to invite self and Father ( Dad was no.1 crew chief on Dunsfold Trials Harriers ) last year.
The point is, are the II+ as tired ? some people say there are spare examples in the desert, while others say they're all being used.
I kow acoustic vibration is a major snag - it reduced the under-fuselage pylons for AMRAAM on the then FRS2 to 'warshot only' ( yes bring-back was associated too ).
When Dunsfold Instrumentation Dept. Put microhones etc in dummy missiles on those pylons, they had to look twice to believe the figures recorded !
However I still believe there's plenty of life in the aircraft, and it's difficult to think of an alternative; as I say the F-35 is potentially wonderful, though the price is a bit of a stopper, as is the point that it apparently can't operate from normal decks or concrete, which one would have thought the point of a VSTOL combat aircraft.
That may be anti-Lockheed propagada though.
In the meantime, any alternative other than Harrier looks like shooting oneself in the foot mega-bucks !