China has built a new US destroyer replica at a remote missile-testing site in its northwestern 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 Xinjiang since at least June. The feature was first identified by Joseph Wen, co-founder of the Taiwan Defense Studies Initiative.
China's Defense Ministry didn't 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.
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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.
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Militaries around the world build replicas of targets. The US has built Chinese air defense systems for weapons testing, The Defense Post reported last year.
