Once again, we rely on outdated technology. No ELT transmissions received. This will only increase the pressure for industry wide deployment of REAL TIME FLIGHT DATA TELEMETRY.
And not before time.
Wouldn't matter. We still need reasonably intelligent PEOPLE to make reasonable decisions in a TIMELY manner.
Indonesia ATC lost radar and radio contact at 6:17, ADS contact at 6:18, and didn't call out an alert until 7:08. The VERY SIMPLE answer is that they should have sounded an alert as soon as contact was lost, so any of those military facilities, Coast Guard, merchant ships, and anyone else in the area would have been immediately alerted to a potential problem. If they regained contact a few minutes later, they could cancel the alert.
If the military radar operators don't know there's a problem, there's no reason for them to closely track EVERY airplane in their airspace. If other facilities & ships don't know there's a problem, there's no reason to post more watches or divert toward the problem area.