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Royal Air Force - Search and Rescue Force SARF
The RAF has its own Search and Rescue Force (SARF), which is ready to respond 24 hours a day. It covers the whole of the UK -- and beyond.
Their primary role is to recover RAF personnel, but in peacetime, the majority of callouts are to civilian incidents. In an average year, the Search and Rescue Force can expect to respond to more than a thousand callouts. Like all emergency services, the type of incident varies tremendously. It could be anything from rescuing a group of lost hill walkers to large-scale operations such as the floods at Boscastle, Cornwall, in 2004; each day brings a new challenge. With every callout, teams have to be quick-thinking and resourceful because lives can depend on it.
We have six Search and Rescue teams in the UK. These work alongside four civilian coastguard and two Royal Navy teams to form a unified national Search and Rescue service. We all work together to ensure that no area in the UK is more than one hour's flight away in daylight. At night we can get to anywhere in the country in less than one-and-a-half hours.
Our teams also work internationally: we operate in Cyprus and the Falkland Islands. These teams, like their colleagues at home, can respond to man-made crises and natural disasters all over the world.
RAF Sea King Mountain Rescue
Filmed on board a RAF Sea King from 202 Squadron Lossiemouth the video shows a real rescue when the crew see the words "Help" stamped in the snow.
The RAF has its own Search and Rescue Force (SARF), which is ready to respond 24 hours a day. It covers the whole of the UK -- and beyond.
Their primary role is to recover RAF personnel, but in peacetime, the majority of callouts are to civilian incidents. In an average year, the Search and Rescue Force can expect to respond to more than a thousand callouts. Like all emergency services, the type of incident varies tremendously. It could be anything from rescuing a group of lost hill walkers to large-scale operations such as the floods at Boscastle, Cornwall, in 2004; each day brings a new challenge. With every callout, teams have to be quick-thinking and resourceful because lives can depend on it.
We have six Search and Rescue teams in the UK. These work alongside four civilian coastguard and two Royal Navy teams to form a unified national Search and Rescue service. We all work together to ensure that no area in the UK is more than one hour's flight away in daylight. At night we can get to anywhere in the country in less than one-and-a-half hours.
Our teams also work internationally: we operate in Cyprus and the Falkland Islands. These teams, like their colleagues at home, can respond to man-made crises and natural disasters all over the world.
RAF Sea King Mountain Rescue
Filmed on board a RAF Sea King from 202 Squadron Lossiemouth the video shows a real rescue when the crew see the words "Help" stamped in the snow.