Whatever your politics on this one we need to remember that Crab is not an RAF spokesperson. THE MOD DO NOT WANT SAR. There has been no support for retaining SAR above that of gp capt.
The mil have not made this "as unatractive as possible". The contract has been put together by a joint MOD and MCA procurement team, heavily relying on legal and financial advisors. Just because they may have put together a contract that does not allow industry to hook itself up to the Government 'cash cow' should be seen a positive thing by any tax payer who has witnessed the previous PFI disasters.
In a situation where too many or all bidders pull the plug, they can usually be persuaded to re-enter the bidding (to ensure a healthy competition) through an agreement to meet their bid costs.