By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-06-25 08:01:44 | Updated at 2026-06-25 09:04:20
1 hour ago
BEIJING – China has built a new US destroyer replica at a remote missile-testing site in its north-western desert, satellite imagery shows, a target analysts say could be used to test anti-ship weapons.
Satellite images show a structure resembling a US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in the Taklamakan Desert in far-western Xinjiang since at least June. The feature was first identified by Joseph Wu, co-founder of the Taiwan Defense Studies Initiative.
China’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The US Department of Defense said it had no comment to provide.
The replica appears to be the latest in a series of mock US Navy warships China has built in the desert over the past five years.
Satellite images from 2021 depicted targets in the shape of an aircraft carrier and two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers at a testing range in the Ruoqiang area of the Taklamakan Desert, the US Naval Institute reported.
The US Seventh Fleet, which patrols the Western Pacific and the waters around Taiwan, uses both types of vessels.
Other satellite imagery has shown debris from missile strikes around the mock-up. The site in Ruoqiang county has been identified by analysts as a location for anti-ship ballistic missile testing.
Militaries around the world build replicas of targets. The US, for example, has built Chinese air defence systems for weapons testing, The Defense Post reported in 2025.
China has thrown up replicas of central Taipei at two military bases. Beijing has vowed to bring the self-ruled democracy of Taiwan under its control, by force if necessary.
One was erected in Zhurihe, China’s largest military training base in Inner Mongolia. That location houses mock-ups of Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building, Judicial Yuan and Foreign Ministry.
In 2015, CCTV aired footage of Chinese soldiers taking part in a live-fire exercise at the base and attacking a structure similar to the presidential office in Taipei.
The other site was built in the vast, arid Alxa League region of Inner Mongolia and featured key Taipei roads.
Satellite imagery from Copernicus, Sentinel-2 shows construction starting in about October 2025.
There were no indications of similar mock-ups at the site previously, according to Vantor, the US-based commercial firm that operates a constellation of imaging satellites and provided the latest pictures.
China showcased its latest anti-ship missiles at a massive military parade last August, which was aimed at demonstrating its military prowess as the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific accuse Beijing of assertive actions in the region.
It was unclear why China built the replicas or whether the mock-ups contain the same metal used in the hulls of warships. Military experts have said Beijing is intent on enhancing its capabilities to strike adversaries at sea using a variety of systems.
An analysis of state and civilian firms in China’s missile-making ecosystem shows Beijing appeared to ramp up missile production in 2025 by the most since Xi Jinping became president in 2013. BLOOMBERG
