Kathrine Frich
The US military previously built replicas of Chinese air defense systems to test its own weapons.
Preparation is the ultimate rule of modern military strategy.
Global powers spend billions trying to look into the future, creating exact replicas of the hurdles they expect to face if a real conflict ever breaks out.
Sometimes, those dress rehearsals take place in the most isolated corners of the map.
Secrets in sand
China has quietly constructed a full scale mock up of an American guided missile destroyer deep inside its north western desert territory. Express reported that recent satellite images captured the massive mock structure.
Experts think the military will use it to test advanced anti ship weapons according to Daily Express.
The fake vessel sits in the remote Taklamakan Desert within the far western Xinjiang region.
Observers have tracked the shape since at least June. Joseph Wu, the co founder of the Taiwan Defense Studies Initiative, first spotted the unique desert footprint.
It is the latest addition to a growing collection of mock warships built by Beijing over the last five years. Earlier, space imagery from the US Naval Institute showed targets shaped like aircraft carriers nearby.
Precision target practice
These desert mock ups are not just for show. Debris from heavy missile strikes has been spotted around older targets in the region, confirming the site is actively used for ballistic weapons testing.
Building fake enemy hardware is actually a standard practice for large militaries worldwide.
For instance, the US military previously built replicas of Chinese air defense systems to test its own weapons, according to a 2025 report by The Defense Post.
Beijing has even constructed replicas of entire streets and government buildings from central Taipei at its training grounds. State broadcasters previously showed troops practicing assaults on a mockup of the Taiwanese presidential office.
Ramping up production
Construction on this newest desert ship target began around October 2025. Vantor, a commercial satellite firm in the US, provided the images showing that the site was completely empty before that date.
The new structure arrived just as China showed off its newest anti ship missiles at a major parade.
Tensions remain high as Washington and its regional allies watch the buildup closely.
A deep look at China’s defense industry shows that missile manufacturing jumped significantly in 2025. It marks the largest production surge since Xi Jinping took power in 2013.
Sources: Express, US Naval Institute, The Defense Post, Vanto
