They are one of four crews supporting Operation Southern Indian Ocean. As of the morning of 28 March, 2014 a total of 43 flights have been flown out of RAAF Base Pearce and Perth International, flying over 410 hours with over 104 hours on task within the search zone. Support from the international military community in the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) led search include aircraft from Australia, New Zealand, United States, China, Japan and Republic of Korea. With these aircraft, search and rescue operations are able to be conducted continuously throughout daylight hours. The RAAF AP-3C Orion is completing two to three flights daily. The RAAF AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft is responsible for conducting long-range surveillance missions within the southern search corridor. The Australian search area is located 1500 nautical miles to the west-southwest of Perth and takes in an area of over 175,000 square nautical miles of ocean.