Search for missing Malaysia jet is the 'most expensive' in aviation history

How Foo Yeen/Getty Images

Search for missing Malaysia jet is the 'most expensive' in aviation history
(Image credit: How Foo Yeen/Getty Images)

The search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 is becoming the most expensive search in aviation history, according to Reuters. The cost of the search party of ships, submarines, planes, and satellites from two dozen countries is estimated at $44 million so far — and that price tag is expected to climb into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Reuters compiled the figure using statistics and costs reported by defense analysts and the Pentagon. The number is only based on the deployment of ships and aircraft from some of the countries participating, including China, the United States, and Vietnam, and it doesn't take into account the help provided by Britain, France, and New Zealand or the civilian aircraft used.

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.