Optimal Search Facilities Selection Model for Joint Aeronautical and Maritime Search

Joint aeronautical and maritime search and rescue is the most effective way of performing rescues at sea. The value and effectiveness of a search and rescue (SAR) are far greater when using a coordinated air-maritime search than when using only vessels or aircraft. However, the harmonization of aeronautical and maritime SAR is complex and potentially life-threatening. When the location of the target in distress is unknown, the search process must be carried out. As the sole way to locate and rescue survivors, the search process is the most costly, hazardous, and complicated part of the whole SAR operation. This article focuses on the key problem of the optimal selection of search facilities, that is often encountered in large-area maritime search practice and urgently needs to be solved in joint aeronautical and maritime search operations. The problem may be abstracted into an optimization model with vessel and aircraft quantitative constraints that fully considers the area of the sea region to be searched, maximum speeds, search capabilities, initial distances of vessels and aircraft from the search area, and maximum endurance of aircraft. By introducing 0-1 decision variables, the search facility selection can be judged and optimized directly and effectively. By analyzing the results with different vessel and aircraft quantities, and taking the relationship between search coverage time and the number of search facilities (cost) into account, the optimal (most economic and feasible) search facility selection scheme can be produced.