Australia to test new aircraft tracking technology in wake of MH370 disappearance

Australia will begin testing new methods of monitoring aircraft over remote areas following the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Government-owned corporation Airservices Australia will join forces with Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts to install new devices that checks the movement of all aircraft every 15 minutes, as opposed to previous models that did so every 30 or 40 minutes.

It is hoped that the technology, which can be fitted to 90 percent of all existing long-haul aircraft, will mean the end of MH370-style disappearances by sending details of the aircraft's location and its next two planned positions.

"This is not a silver bullet, but it is an important step in delivering immediate improvements to the way we currently track aircraft while more comprehensive solutions are developed," Airservices Australia Chairman Angus Houston said.

The developments came following suggestions from Australia's deputy prime minister, Warren Truss, over the weekend that search efforts for the missing Boeing 777 aircraft could soon be called off.

The Malaysia Airlines flight went missing on March 8 last year carrying 239 passengers and crew members. Search efforts have been ongoing, but there have been no signs of its remains.

Truss said a decision must now be made over whether search parties continue to trawl over the 1.1 million square kilometers sea floor highlighted as the primary search zone.

"For many of the families onboard, they won't have closure unless they have certain knowledge that the aircraft has been located and perhaps their loved ones' remains have been recovered, " Truss told media on Sunday.

"We clearly cannot keep searching forever, but we want to do everything that's reasonably possible to locate the aircraft." Endi