[QUOTE=Tappers Dad;make a pretence at holding 'airborne SAR' - only effective if the incident is within about 200 miles of your area and within the first 3 hours of your sortie. God help us with another Piper Alpha!![/QUOTE]
Nothing new here TD. Thirty years ago it was quite normal to hold airborne SAR. As for within 200 miles that is an over simplification.
A SAR ac is to launch within 60 minutes, typically 30. If the airborne SAR is within 200 miles east of Kinloss it can be in the same position as the ground aircraft after 30 minutes for an incident over land or to the west.
As for the '3 hrs', assuming a one hour transit and a recovery to the most suitable airfield one hour from the search area (400 miles) is could still provide 4 hours on task at the 3 hr point. Only at the 5-6 hr point would we be in an area of marginal support but it would still give an additional 3 hrs to get another jet airborne and at least on its way.
That was the logic 30 years ago.