NRDK - you do appear have 'ex-RN' written all over you - at least you seem well balanced with an anti-RAF chip on both shoulders. We haven't had an RN exchange officer yet who hasn't had his eyes opened to the way we do SAR - they generally leave rather than return to their mother service
You claim your present training is up to the task in hand and then say you will welcome all the ex-mil crews because they will give you the capability you need - make your mind up.
As for old kit, I would rather have a radar (albeit with a blind arc) that can see a dolphin's c8ck at 10 miles than a cloud and clonk radar that can't see a windfarm at 2.5 miles or see the area you are going to turn into.
On that subject I am still deafened by the silence on the question about how you are allowed to operate below safety alt IMC over water - P.S. approach and landing doesn't count because you are not doing either. Just how do you let down to a radar/PLB/FLIR target safely?