Update: Search for Jesse Robredo & pilots: Of brave & tireless divers; deeper, more focused dives; additional sonars; infrared; hoping for the Orion  

From Yahoo Philippines: “Rescuers are focusing their search on an area 5 kilometers by 2 kilometers, with depths ranging from “ `30 meters to around 300 feet (91.44 meters)’, he (Trade Secretary Mar Roxas, the designated spokesperson) said. On his Twitter account, Roxas announced that divers will dive to around 250-300 feet on Monday. He said equipment and a decompression chamber from the Philippine Coast Guard will be ready for deeper dives.” (Yahoo Philippines at ph.yahoo.com)

From Mar Roxas: “Update 2200-last diver while at 150ft saw metallic parts with letterings at deeper levels.Sonars, are 2 now will focus on this area” (twitter.com/MARoxas)

[blog admin: In long-hand, that is: “The last diver while at a depth of 150 feet, saw metallic parts with letterings at deeper levels. There are now two sonars being used, and we will focus on this area.” (long-hand of Mar Roxas’s tweet)]

From inquirer.net: “Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo, Coast Guard spokesperson, said “big fishing boats with powerful lights helped in the search, trying to locate the plane’s wreckage,” but they had “no success so far.” xxx“We gave the grid coordinates of the crash site to our American counterpart,” Balilo said. “We hope they can dispatch today one of their Lockheed P3 Orion aircraft to help in the search for the missing plane.” (inquirer.net)

      What is the Lockheed P3 Orion?

        Aeroflight Co. of the United Kingdom says that the Orion has a 360° search radar, acoustic and non-acoustic sensors, magnetic anomaly detector, etc.  It’s a    “(l)and-based, long range, anti-submarine warfare patrol and anti-surface warfare aircraft. xxx  Update … in 1977 included an infrared detection system, a sonobuoy reference system, the Harpoon anti-ship missile and 28-channel magnetic tape recorder/reproducer. xxx The ASW variants have a comprehensive suite of communications, navigation, acoustic and non-acoustic sensors, and data-processing equipment. The Orion’s capability has been greatly increased during its operational life, IFF interrogator, LTN-72 INS, Doppler navigation radar, 360° search radar, MAD, AN/AQA-7 Direction Low-Frequency Analyzer and Ranging (DIFAR) system and chin mounted FLIR.” (from  aeroflight.co.uk)

“The current fleet is armed with a variety of sensors for detecting and locating enemy submarines and ships, torpedoes, mines, depth charges, and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. xxx In recent years, older P-3 airframes have also been adapted to a variety of other tasks, including the P-3AEW&C airborne radar platform used by US Customs to combat drug trafficking and the EP-3E Aries intelligence aircraft used to monitor communications and electronic emissions. xxx Estimated cost (of the Orion): $36 million.” (from aerospace.org at  aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/maritime/p3/index.shtml)

  From Mar Roxas 15 seconds ago: “US plane wid FLIR, forward looking infra red, also did flyby passes.” (twitter.com/MARoxas) In long-hand, that is: “A U.S. plane with FLIR, or Forward-Looking Infrared devices, also did fly-by passes.”