Ten military planes, four civilian jets and nine ships are today covering an area of more than 200,000 square kilometres about 1,700 kilometres west of Perth.
A "black box" locator from United States navy onboard the Australian Defence vessel Ocean Shield, and a "similar capability" on board the Royal Navy ship HMS Echo, is being used to search along a single 240-kilometre track, retired Air Chief Marshal Houston says.
He says the underwater search path has been very carefully chosen and based on data that "arrived recently".
"The area of highest probability as to where the aircraft might have entered the water is the area where the underwater search will commence," he said.
"On best advice the locator beacon will last about a month before it ceases its transmissions, so we're now getting pretty close to the time when it might expire."
The Boeing 777 was briefly picked up on military radar on the other side of Malaysia and analysis of subsequent hourly electronic "handshakes" exchanged with a satellite led investigators to conclude the plane crashed far off the West Australian coast hours later.
VIDEO: Angus Houston provides an update on the operation (ABC News)
Sonar may help find the plane's black box voice and data recorders that are key to unlocking what happened on the flight.
The black box is equipped with a locator beacon that transmits "pings" when underwater, but which only has an expected battery life of about 30 days.
Experts have warned the so-called towed pinger locator may be of little use unless investigators can get a much better idea of exactly where the plane went into water, because its limited range and the slow speed at which it must be pulled behind the ship means it cannot cover large areas of ocean quickly.
Air Chief Marshal Houston said the start of the underwater search in earnest did not override the need to keep searching for surface wreckage of the plane, as a find would be the most effective way to pinpoint a sub-sea hunt.
"This is a vast area, an area that's quite remote. We will continue the surface search for a good deal more time," he said.
"I think there's still a great possibility of finding something on the surface.
"There's lots of things in aircraft that float. In previous searches life jackets have appeared which can be connected to the aircraft that was lost."
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Britian sends nuclear sub, Malaysia sends frigate
To cover the enlarged search area, Britain is also sending HMS Tireless, a Trafalgar-class nuclear submarine with sonar capabilities. A Malaysian frigate was due to arrive in the search area on Saturday.
Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak on Thursday joined Prime Minister Tony Abbott in a tour of RAAF Base Pearce, near Perth, where aircrews from seven countries have been flying dozens of missions deep into the southern Indian Ocean.
Malaysian authorities have faced heavy criticism, particularly from China, for mismanaging the search, now in its fourth fruitless week. Most of the 239 people on board the flight were Chinese.
"The world expects us to do our level best, and I'm very confident we will indeed show what we can do together as a group of nations; that we want to find answers, that we want to provide comfort to the families and we will not rest until answers are indeed found," Mr Najib said.
Authorities have not ruled out mechanical problems as causing the disappearance, but say all the evidence suggests the plane was deliberately diverted from its scheduled route.
Malaysia's police chief said the investigation was focusing on the cabin crew and pilots, after clearing all 227 passengers of possible involvement in hijacking, sabotage or having personal or psychological problems that could have been connected to the disappearance.
ABC
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