Originally Posted by glenbrook
No, it is not nearly as bad as that.
A definite ULB signal was received. This means the search area can be narrowed very considerably within the radius of ULB audibility. No, it's not the size of Texas, more like a few hundred km2 at most. The Bluefin is supposed to be able to scan 40km2/day so if it Bluefin can't find it within a few weeks, then this probably means that it is beyond the capabilities of the AUV. A rethink of how to scan the search area, and maybe using bigger and better hardware is appropriate.
The only fear I have is that something else was mistaken for the ULB signal. This seems very unlikely, but given that it has stopped, it still a worry.
In a BBC Radio 4 interview a couple of days ago, the commanding officer of HMS Echo said the search area had been localised to 10 miles by 5 miles. Assuming nautical miles, that is about 172km2.