The Royal Malaysian Air Force believes that there was a possibility that MH370 could have attempted to turn back, based on military radar records.
 
At a press conferencce in KLIA today, air force chief Rodzali Daud ( left ) could not reveal details about this due to ongoing investigations.
 
"At this juncture, we are still trying to collaborate with civilian radar and other international agencies and with this collaboration, probably we will get a better picture," he said.
 
Flight MH370 from KLIA to Beijing had went missing in the wee hours of yesterday morning, shortly after entering Vietnamese airspace.
 
MAS head Ahmad Jauhari Yahya explained that such a turn-back is done when he aircraft could not proceed on its original course, and procedures dictate that the pilot have to report this to air traffic control.
 
However, no such report was received, nor distress calls of any kind.
 
"We are also baffled that there is no signal from the (aircraft’s) emergency locator transmitter (ELT)," Rodzali added, referring to emergency beacons that can be activated manually by the pilot or automatically in case of impact.
 
Malaysian submarines not used
 
Meanwhile, armed forces chief Zulkifli Mohd Zin ( right ) said thus far, 22 aircraft including helicopters and 40 vessels have been deployed for search and rescue operations, including those from other nations.
 
Earlier, acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that Singapore has pledged to send three naval vessels to join an existing multinational search and rescue team to look for the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
 
These include MV Swift Rescue, a surface vessel designed for underwater rescue operations.
 
To a question on whether Malaysia’s submarine fleet is also involved in the search effort, Hishammuddin, who is also the defence minister, replied that they were not, because they are not equipped for SAR operations.
 
Hishammuddin also said that the Vietnamese authorities confirmed its search aircraft had sighted oil slicks.
 
However, no debris was spotted and more Vietnamese aircraft have been sent to verify the nature of the slicks, he said.
 
When asked on Chinese media reports saying that floating items have been found, Hishammuddin said the government has yet to receive information from China on this.