An American-based company has reached a rather unique agreement with the Malaysian government to revive the search for infamous lost airliner MH370 using a remarkably sophisticated approach.
The ambitious expedition, put together by a group known as Ocean Unlimited, is expected to be announced next week and could begin in just a few days.
What makes this new search particularly promising is the incredible technology to be used by the group.
Oceans Unlimited plans to deploy a whopping eight unmanned submarines to scour a patch of the Indian Ocean believed to be where MH370 may rest.
Each of the UAV subs will communicate with an unmanned companion boat floating above them which will relay data back to a massive main vessel, allowing the search to fan out to an enormous area.
Even more reason to optimistic is that the batteries for the subs allow them to operate for two-and-a-half days at a time.
Incredibly, the previous multinational search that was ended last year only deployed one UAV submarine and it was far less advanced than the devices to be used by Oceans Unlimited.
And, adding another intriguing layer to this development, the agreement between the Malaysian government and Oceans Unlimited makes the search something of a gamble for the group.
That's because the deal struck between the two parties says that Oceans Unlimited will not get any money from the Malaysian government for their work unless they find MH370.
Although the exact parameters of the 'no find, no fee' agreement have yet to be announced, it is believed that the group will receive somewhere between $20 and $70 million dollars should they be successful within 90 days.
And so in the next three months, we'll either see the story of MH370 solved once and for all or some brave individuals will have lost a considerable sum of money to create the next chapter in the mystery.
Source: The Australian