I have always been of the mind that a successful SAR system is not purely about range or speed but the number of assets. Once tasked, a SAR cab can't be 2 places at once, which is where ARCC will prioritise. In terms of the UAVs most posters with a SAR background are dwelling on the negatives rather than looking at the positives. It could be used as a force enabler if tasked alongside a SAR helicopter for those long overwater searches. A greater area could be covered much quicker with more assets and with a SAR cab close at hand anything spotted by UAV could be quickly checked out. One other aspect of searching is to prove that nothing was found in the area searched, especially on those jobs where there is doubt that someone needs rescuing at all (clothes found on beach etc). Again, Coastguard and ARCC could prioritise and rather than send a SAR crew out in the middle of the night they could deploy the UAV. That said, I agree with all the issues over weather and the like. There are many limitations but used in the right way it could work well.
RC