China Builds Models of US Ships in Area Used to Test Missiles

China’s military has built models shaped like an aircraft carrier and other US Navy warships, possibly as training targets, in the Xinjiang desert, satellite images of the Maxar company show.

These models reflect China’s efforts to expand its capabilities to attack aircraft carriers, specifically against the US Navy, as tensions remain high with Washington over Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Satellite images captured on Sunday (7) showed a full-scale model of a US aircraft carrier and at least two Arleigh Burke class destroyers that were built in what appears to be a new target complex in the Taklamakan desert.

The images also show a 20-foot-wide rail system with a ship-sized target mounted on it, which experts say can be used to simulate a vessel in motion.

The complex has been used for ballistic missile testing, the US Naval Institute reported, citing geospatial intelligence company All Source Analysis.

China’s anti-ship missile programs are overseen by the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF). China’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the Pentagon’s latest annual report on China’s military, the PLARF conducted its first confirmed real fire launch in the South China Sea in July 2020, firing six DF-21 anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) at northern waters of the Spratly Islands, where China has territorial disputes with Taiwan and four Southeast Asian countries.

The sea trials may have shown China “that they are still far from creating an accurate ASBM,” said Collin Koh, a researcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

“I don’t think the desert targets will be the final stage. They serve for further refinement.”

Launching an anti-ship ballistic missile in the desert would not reflect the realistic conditions of a marine environment, which could affect sensors and targeting, but it would allow China to conduct the tests more safely, Koh said.

“The best way to test it and keep it away from the prying eyes of the military and US intelligence resources is to do it inside,” he said.

Neighboring countries, concerned about missiles hitting other ships around the target, may also object to China’s sea trials, he added.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in July this year that the United States will defend the Philippines if it is attacked in the South China Sea and warned China to cease its “provocative behavior.”