A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft has arrived in Australia to continue its search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner in the southern Indian Ocean, the U.S. 7th Fleet said on Wednesday.

The P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft has completed its transition from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Perth, Australia as of Tuesday, as it will be "most effective operating" out of Perth to the expanded search area in the southern Indian Ocean, the U.S. 7th Fleet said.

During its missions out of Kuala Lumpur, the P-8A crew identified more than 400 radar contacts, but none were associated with aircraft debris or wreckage, the statement said.

The aircraft's advanced radar capabilities allow the crew to recognize and investigate small contacts on the water's surface. The crew uses the onboard camera system and a multitude of sensors to investigate the contacts.

Lt. Joshua Mize, a P-8A Poseidon tactical coordinator, said the crew has been using all of the aircraft's sensors to identify objects in the water since they don't know exactly how big the debris may be.

"Our goal is to cover as much area as possible while still being thorough with our search. Being thorough is critical, especially in a search like this," Mize said.

The 7th Fleet confirmed on Monday that USS Kidd dropped out of the search efforts for the missing plane, as long range patrol aircraft are more suited to the current search mission with the search area expanding into the southern Indian Ocean.

No trace of the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been found since it vanished on March 8 with 239 passengers aboard. Endite

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