Received January 30, 2021, accepted February 24, 2021, date of publication March 1, 2021, date of current version March 9, 2021.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3062844
Optimal Search Facilities Selection Model for
Joint Aeronautical and Maritime Search
SHENGWEI XING
Navigation College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
e-mail: xingsw@dlmu.edu.cn
This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 51709032; in part by the Natural
Science Foundation of Liaoning Province under Grant 2019-ZD-0149 and Grant 2020-HYLH-27; and in part by the Fundamental Research
Funds for the Central Universities under Grant 3132020135.
ABSTRACT 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.
INDEX TERMS Joint aeronautical and maritime search, marine safety, search facility, optimal model.
I. INTRODUCTION
Joint aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (SAR) is
an activity in which surface forces (vessel facilities) and air
forces (aircraft facilities) are coordinated, which has proven
to be the most effective way to perform SAR at sea [1].
However, joint aeronautical and maritime SAR is a very com-
plex and life-threatening activity. In the Malaysia Airlines
Flight 370 (MH370) accident, the approximate maximum
flight radius of the airplane was 5250 kilometers, and the
theoretical search area exceeded 86 million square kilome-
ters, making it the largest search operation at sea in history.
‘‘Science’’ magazine published an editorial saying that the
search for MH370 was the largest and most difficult search
task in history. At least 160 ships and aircraft (including
65 aircraft and 95 ships) from 26 countries participated in
this unprecedented search operation [2]–[5]. In such a case,
The associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript and
approving it for publication was Huiping Li.
when search facilities from different countries are employed,
a problem that search commanders urgently need to solve
is how to choose the optimal search facilities to participate
in the search operation and efficiently complete the search
coverage. In forming an effective mechanism for search infor-
mation support and scientific decision-making, there should
be at least two elements: one is a way to grasp the information
of all available forces in a timely and accurate manner, and
the other is an optimal maritime search model. The former
is a prerequisite for planning the search while the latter is a
scientific and rational approach by a mathematical program.
Maritime SAR methods have been studied for many years,
and the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and
Rescue (IAMSAR) Manual has become a programmatic doc-
ument for taking search action [6], [7]. In addition, some
countries have introduced their own maritime SAR manuals
based on their conditions [8].
In recent years, with the development of artificial intel-
ligence technology, some unmanned equipment such as
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