GarageYears;
So the implication of this is that the French Navy are idiots then?
I don't think anyone was implying that, but it transpired during the Phase 1 search that the SNA (Nuclear Attack Submarine) L'Emeraude's sonar detection equipment was not up to the task. It was apparently optimised for 8~9kHz and tests were undertaken onboard another Rubic class sub in the Mediterranean to optimise the detector for 37.5kHz. The new settings were transmitted to L'Emeraude and applied.
The BEA have already tabled for a ULB change of frequency to 8 ~ 9kHz with the ICAO at a meeting in Montreal in 2010. I suspect that the change will only gain traction once the reason for lack of detection of the AF447 ULBs is determined.
Some of these matters were previously discussed in Part 1 of this thread and can be found around page 90.