Dumb question?
This may be a dumb question but has the US offered to or provided assistance in the sea surface search by the use of drones? If the haven't the question I would ask is why not? It would appear that they can readily pick out a terrorist target from altitude and conduct surveillance so why not utilise their range and stand off capability to conduct a detailed search of the Indian Ocean instead of putting PC3 Orions and other aircraft at risk.