Riley Dove,
You do not have to drop a weapon to deter, that is the whole point but, you will have to drop a shedload of other stuff and have the endurance to hang around and the speed to get back and reload or you will need a fleet of about 100 dedicated C130MPA types, just to maintain a continuous patrol in the deep Atlantic. C130s, Dash 8s etc, will not cut the mustard. You need a large integrated platform, with high cruise speed and the ability to loiter for long periods, preferably AARA capable = less aircraft maximum effect = global reach = multi-tasking
Dalek
At some stage in the foreseeable future, a large cruise liner is going to sink in the Eastern Atlantic.
We have nothing that can even carry any rescue/ survival equipment to 20W.
.
So if the Department of trade or the IMO would like to bung the MOD a few million, then maybe the MOD could take on this task!
Responsibility for civil aeronautical and maritime SAR policy rests with the
Department for Transport, (DfT). As such, the DfT is responsible, through
the UK SAR Strategic Committee, for assessing the adequacy of UK civil
aeronautical and maritime SAR resources, response and co-ordination.