Tasking control - and a very light one at that - does not equate to OpCon. If the SARF Commander has OpCon, why does the final word regarding whether a MCA helicopter is released for an inter-hospital transfer reside with the Coastguard MRCC ? Equally, if the MCA wish to use one of their contract helicopters on a non-SAR task, they do not have to seek permission of the ARCC or the SARF - they are paying the bills after all. If the SARF has OpCon, how could this be ?
Crab - there were some licensing and RCS interface issues with the MCA helicopters Sat Tracking, which I understand are being overcome. However, from the start of the MCA Interim Contract in 2007, the system was available to the ARCC on a standalone Internet display and yes, there were a few glitches but there tends to be that with most new systems.