Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 debris found
A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AP-3C Orion aircraft searches for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean- Reuters

The US Navy's Towed Pinger Locator 25 (TPL-25) has been brought to Australia to assist in the hunt for the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370's black box in the remote southern Indian Ocean.

The navy equipment, which can detect signals from depths of up to 20,000 ft, would help identify the exact location of MH370's black box using 'pings', or high-pitched signals for detection.

Consisting of a towfish, tow cable, winch, generator and a control console operated from topside, the locator will be towed by another vessel as it seeks the flight data recorder.

The US navy equipment is able to detect signals which are transmitted anywhere between 3.5 kHz and 50 kHz. The pingers on the commercial aircraft's black box, which has a battery life of 30 days, usually emit short signals every second at 37.5 kHz.

The US has also sent a robotic underwater vehicle to aid the search mission.

Timeline

The black box is expected to provide answers to several key questions pertaining to the mysterious disappearance of the Boeing 777 passenger jet with 239 people on board.

Meanwhile, search operations to find the plane's wreckage have resumed in the stormy stretch of the southern Indian Ocean after they were hampered by gale force winds, rain and huge waves.

At least 12 aircraft, led by the Australian search agency, will be scouring the suspected debris region, accompanied by several vessels.

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"Today's search is split into three areas within the same proximity covering a cumulative 80,000 sq kms. Amsa (Australia Maritime Safety Authority) has tasked a total of 12 aircraft today to search for possible objects in the search area," the agency said in a statement.

Six countries - Australia, New Zealand, the US, Japan, China, and South Korea - are participating in the hunt.

"We are just going to keep on looking because we owe it to people to do everything we can to resolve this riddle. It is not absolutely open-ended but it is not something we will lightly abandon," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Nine Network.