Max Con,
Thankyou for teaching me to suck eggs - I already know who is responsible for what in the UKSRR - my point is that if Military SAR is withdrawn (and yes this is a possibility), who will pick up the slack? As you say, the CAA would have to change it's tune on rules governing air ambulances and the Coastguard would need to aquire a fleet of helicopyers and crews to cover all the maritime and coastal stuff.
The public thinks military SAR is great, the brass in the military don't know enough about what we do and point out that only 2 or 3 % of our jobs are military in nature (jet mates just don't bang out as much as they used to). Couple this with an ageing fleet of knackered aircraft and an inability to deploy in support of military operations around the globe, and you have a big target for the bean counters who will rightly point out that SAR cover in the UK is the responsibility of the DTLR and not MOD.
The possible answers? -1. more money and a new aircraft plus a formal agreement between Govt and MoD regarding SAR (chances of this? ).
2. A PPI between MCA (coastguard) and MoD with COMO (contractor owned military operated) aircraft.
3. MoD buys power by the hour to sustain it's present capability and relieve the pressure on the Sea King fleet.
4. Continue as we are and wait until the situation is really desperate until we do something about it and continue to pay for upgrades to the Sea King as it rapidly approaches it's out of service date.
5. Take the 28 Sqn Merlins and paint them yellow, using them for long range SAR from certain flights to again ease the squeeze on the SK fleet.
You choose or come up with something better, one thing is for sure - something will have to change (apart from me getting the sack).