Jack Frost described a tactical decision aide that the Coast Guard is developing with the cooperation of Northrop Grumman, Applied Science Associates and Metron.

The problem is that the Coast Guard has to be alerted ahead of time in the instance of a Search and Rescue (SAR) incident, which is not really possible, so they gather the data and estimate uncertainties. A model is required for the Coast Guard to locate a good starting point for a search. Then the Coast Guard allocates resources, plans and executes the search. The process is repeated until they rescue the survivors or have to terminate the search. Probability of Containment (POC) is also taken into consideration.

SAROPS will run on a PC with an on-demand, wizard-based interface. Its creators want to incorporate animation so that the user can easily visualize different aspects of search planning. A user inputs the data into the Environmental Data Server (EDS). With the use of GUI and Simulator Search and Rescue Units (SRU) deployment tools are provided. An embedded Monte Carlo simulation evaluates pre-distress motion and fixed hazards, drifts, cumulative POS and the effects of previous unsuccessful searches. Adjustable parameters such as sweep width can modify the simulated solution.

A typical search evaluation will simulate the motion of the searcher and will adjust the lateral range curve with the probabilities of the object having not yet been found. When the cumulative figure can no longer be improved, the question becomes whether it will be worth going out again, accounting for unsuccessful searches in the past. Improvements are being sought in optimal survivor search, pre-distress simulation (e.g., storm predictions) and improved sensor modeling.