DEVELOPMENT: Freescale Semiconductor which had 20 workers on MH370 had just launched new radar chips [EXPRESS]

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Freescale Semiconductor, which makes powerful microchips for industries including defence, released the powerful new products to the American market on March 3. Five days later, Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing with 239 people on board including 20 working for Freescale. Twelve were from Malaysia, while eight were Chinese nationals. Freescale’s spokesman Mitch Haws has said: “These were all people with a lot of experience and technical background and they were very important people. “It’s definitely a loss for the company.” Freescale’s shareholders include the Carlyle Group of private equity investors whose past advisers have included ex-US president George Bush Sr and former British Prime Minister John Major.

These were all people with a lot of experience and technical background – they were very important Freescale Semiconductor

Carlyle’s previous heavyweight clients include the Saudi Binladin Group, the construction firm owned by the family of Osama bin Laden. The fact that Freescale had so many highly qualified staff on board the Boeing 777 had already prompted wild conspiracy theories about what might have happened. The company says they were flying to China to improve its consumer products operations, but Freescale’s fresh links to electronic warfare technology is likely to trigger more speculation and deepen the mystery.

A map of the latest search areas in the southern Indian Ocean today [EPA]

Experts have been baffled how a large passenger jet seems to have flown undetected and possibly beaten military radar systems for up to six hours. Avoiding radar via “cloaking technology” has long been one of the objectives of the defence industry and Freescale has been active developing chips for military radar. On its website, the company says its radio frequency products meet the requirements for applications in “avionics, radar, communications, missile guidance, electronic warfare and identification friend or foe”. Last June it announced it was creating a team of specialists dedicated to producing “radio frequency power products” for the defence industry. And on March 3, it announced it was releasing 11 of these new gadgets for use in “high frequency, VHF and low-band UHF radar and radio communications”. The company did not respond to questions from Express Online, including whether any of its missing employees had been working on the defence products.

Hull University student Yue Wenchao, 26, who is reported to be one of the passengers on board [ENTERPRISE]

It neither provided any responses to the latest bizarre conspiracy theory being widely published on the comments sections of newspaper websites and other internet forums. The comment reads: “It reads: “Have you pieced together the puzzle of missing flight 370 to Beijing China? If not, here are your missing pieces. “Patents Patents Patents. “Four days after the missing flight MH370 a patent is approved by the Patent Office, four of the five Patent holders are Chinese employees of Freescale Semiconductor of Austin TX. “Patent is divided up on 20 per cent increments to five holders. “Peidong Wang, Suzhou, China, (20 per cent); Zhijun Chen, Suzhou, China, (20 per cent); Zhihong Cheng, Suzhou, China, (20 per cent); Li Ying, Suzhou, China, (20 per cent); Freescale Semiconductor (20 per cent). “If a patent holder dies, then the remaining holders equally share the dividends of the deceased if not disputed in a will. “If four of the five dies, then the remaining one Patent holder gets 100 per cent of the wealth of the patent. “That remaining live Patent holder is Freescale Semiconductor.” It adds: “Here is your motive for the missing Beijing plane. As all four Chinese members of the Patent were passengers on the missing plane. “Patent holders can alter the proceeds legally by passing wealth to their heirs. “However, they cannot do so until the Patent is approved. So when the plane went missing, the patent had not been approved.”