In May 2016 , the JORN FAQ file / Fact Sheet was updated by the RAAF to address questions about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 . According to the update , " JORN was not operational at the time of the aircraft 's disappearance . " The update also stated that MH370 would have been unlikely to be detected by the system due to radar range , ionospheric conditions and a " lack of information on MH370 's possible flight path towards Australia . " However , in the immediate aftermath of the 8 March 2014 disappearance , information regarding JORN 's status was not released . This led to months of speculation . On 18 March 2014 , sources cited by '' The Australian '' said that JORN was not tasked to look toward the Indian Ocean on the night of the disappearance of MH370 as there was no reason for it to be searching there at that time . On 20 March 2014 , it was reported that Malaysian Defence Minister ( also Acting Transport Minister ) Hishammuddin Hussein requested the US to give any information from the Pine Gap base near Alice Springs , possibly alluding to JORN as well . On 19 March 2014 , it was reported that an Australian Defence Department spokesman said it " wo n't be providing comment " regarding specific information on tracking MH370 by JORN . However , several days prior to this , Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told the Australian Parliament , " All our defence intelligence relating to Flight 370 has been , and will continue to be , passed on to Malaysian authorities ... " In March 2015 , before the July 2015 discovery of MH370 debris on Réunion Island , aviation technology expert Andre Milne requested information from JORN to prove or disprove that the aircraft ended up in the Indian Ocean , but he received no response from the Australian government in 2015 . It was made public in May 2016 that JORN was not operational at the time of the disappearance
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Jindalee Operational Radar Network