Top secret U.S. Navy technology reportedly detected the sound of the Titan implosion just hours after the submersible began its voyage on Sunday.
In a bombshell report on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Navy began using its technology immediately after it was learned that the sub had lost communications with its surface vessel, the Polar Prince. Shortly thereafter, the system — which is used to protect the U.S. from enemy submarines — heard what officials believed was the Titan imploding.
The sound was detected near the area where Titan debris was discovered on Thursday, about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic.
A top Navy official, however, told the Wall Street Journal there is not "definitive" proof the implosion heard was the Titan.
The official said:
The U.S. Navy conducted an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost. While not definitive, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission.
Sources told the Wall Street Journal the military did not tell the public about the implosion detection because officials weren't 100% certain it was the Titan.
"It looks that the Titan imploded on Sunday on its way down to the Titanic shortly after contact was lost at a depth of around 9,000 feet," said a person with "direct knowledge" of the incident.
If the submersible imploded at that depth, the five people on board died within milliseconds — before they even knew there was a problem.
A U.S. defense official told the Wall Street Journal that investigators will try to determine whether the sound heard on the top-secret technology was, indeed, the Titan imploding.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), meanwhile, slammed the military's handling of the incident. Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, called it an "epic failure of leadership." He suggested the outcome may have been different if leadership had acted sooner, though it's not clear how, if the sub imploded within hours of entering the ocean on Sunday.
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