China Builds U.S. Warship Imitation To Target Shooting Exercise In The Desert

Illustration of China's Dong Feng 26 (DF-26) ballistic missile. (Wikimedia Commons/IceUnshattered)

JAKARTA - China's military has built mockups in the shape of a US Navy aircraft carrier and warship, possibly for target training, according to Maxar satellite imagery reviewed by the independent United States Naval Institute (USNI).

Satellite images of China's northwestern Xinjiang region appear to show a full-scale outline of the 'Ford-class' aircraft carrier currently being built for the US Navy. And set up at least two Arleigh Burke-class missile destroyers at the Taklamakan Desert shooting training complex according to the US Naval Institute (USNI).

The complex is known to have been repeatedly used for ballistic missile tests, according to USNI and Maxar Technologies, an aerospace technology company.

"This new range shows China continues to focus on anti-aircraft carrier capabilities, with an emphasis on US Navy warships," the USNI reported.

It is commonplace, militaries around the world regularly make imitations of real-world targets such as iconic landmarks, warships, and aircraft carriers.

China's anti-ship ballistic missile program is overseen by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF). CNN has contacted China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense for comment.

According to the Pentagon's latest assessment of China's military and security developments, Beijing is rapidly expanding its arsenal and military capabilities. In 2020 alone, the PLARF launched more than 250 ballistic missiles for testing and training, a figure the Pentagon says exceeds the rest of the world combined.

The Pentagon's report comes amid rising tensions over China's military exercises in the Pacific, and was published hours after the US's most senior general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley warned that China's military advances represent "one of the world's biggest, geostrategic power changes the world has witnessed."

A senior defense official who briefed reporters on the report took a similar stance. CNN has contacted the Pentagon about the Maxar satellite imagery.

Beijing claims almost all of the vast South China Sea as its sovereign territory and has stepped up efforts to assert dominance over the resource-rich waters in recent years, turning a series of obscure coral reefs and atolls into heavily fortified artificial islands and increase naval activity in the region.

Illustration of China's Dong Feng 21D ballistic missile. (Wikimedia Commons/IceUnshattered)

Its territorial ambitions have faced opposition by at least five other countries, and have been vehemently rejected by Washington.

In August 2020, China launched a series of ballistic missiles into the South China Sea as tensions with Washington over the disputed waterway escalated.

State media made several detailed references to the launch, which involved DF-21D and DF-26 missiles. Both have been touted in Chinese propaganda as being highly accurate and capable of hitting ships moving at sea.

"China's DF-26 and DF-21D were the world's first ballistic missiles capable of targeting large and medium-sized ships, earning them the title of 'carrier killer'," the state-run Global Times said, citing military observers.

Separately citing Sputnik News, China's increasing development of missiles and the manufacture of US ship clones, sparked concern in Washington. Beijing's 'rapid growth and military build-up' has raised concerns that the country is preparing for a confrontation with America.

"We are witnessing one of the largest shifts in global geostrategic power the world has witnessed," said Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, speaking of China's recent military advances at a security forum discussion broadcast by NBC News.

"They are clearly challenging us regionally and their aspiration is to challenge the United States globally," General Milley said.