Report: China Builds Mockups of U.S. Navy Ships for Missile Target Practice

Satellite photos of the Taklamakan desert in central China published on Sunday revealed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has constructed full-sized mockups of several U.S. warships, including an aircraft carrier, apparently for missile target practice.

The photos were taken by satellite imaging company Maxar Technologies and reviewed by AllSource Analysis, a geospatial intelligence firm. Maxar is a major supplier of satellite intelligence information for the U.S. government.

The photos made public on Sunday depicted the latest developments at a Chinese military facility in the Taklamakan desert, located in China’s central Ruoqiang region.

Previous satellite photos showed the facility was constructed in the spring of 2019 near the location of a target range employed in the development of China’s DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles, dubbed the “carrier killer” by analysts because it was evidently developed to give the PLA a land-based method of eliminating the U.S. advantage in aircraft carriers.

The new facility was rebuilt several times over the course of some nine months, largely dismantled in December 2019, and then reactivated in September 2021. It now appears to boast three full-sized mockups of U.S. Navy ships, including one aircraft carrier and two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.- READ MORE