China builds US warship replica just for target practice

China has built a replica of a US destroyer at a remote missile-testing site in its north-western desert, according to recent satellite imagery. Analysts believe the target 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 far-western Xinjiang, visible since at least June. The feature was first identified by Joseph Wu, co-founder of the Taiwan Defense Studies Initiative. The replica appears to be the latest in a series of mock US Navy warships that China has built in the desert over the past five years.

Satellite images from 2021 showed targets shaped like an aircraft carrier and two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers at a testing range in the Ruoqiang area of the Taklamakan Desert, according to the US Naval Institute. The US Seventh Fleet, which patrols the Western Pacific and the waters around Taiwan, operates both types of vessels.

Other satellite imagery has revealed debris from missile strikes around the mock-up. Analysts have identified the site in Ruoqiang county as a location for anti-ship ballistic missile testing. Militaries around the world build replicas of potential targets. The US, for example, has constructed Chinese air defence systems for weapons testing, The Defense Post reported in 2025.

China has also erected replicas of central Taipei at two military bases. Beijing has vowed to bring the self-ruled democracy of Taiwan under its control, by force if necessary. One replica was built in Zhurihe, China’s largest military training base in Inner Mongolia. It includes mock-ups of Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building, Judicial Yuan and Foreign Ministry.

In 2015, state broadcaster CCTV showed Chinese soldiers conducting a live-fire exercise at the base, attacking a structure similar to the presidential office in Taipei. The other site, in the arid Alxa League region of Inner Mongolia, featured key roads from Taipei.

Satellite imagery from Copernicus Sentinel-2 indicates construction of the latest replica began around October 2025. There were no signs of similar mock-ups at the site before then, according to Vantor, the US-based commercial satellite operator that provided the latest images.

China displayed its latest anti-ship missiles at a large military parade last August, intended to showcase its military capabilities amid accusations from the US and its Indo-Pacific allies of assertive behaviour in the region.

It is unclear why China built the replicas or whether the mock-ups use the same metals as warship hulls. Military experts say Beijing is focused on improving its ability to strike adversaries at sea with a range of systems.

An analysis of state and civilian firms in China’s missile industry shows Beijing significantly increased missile production in 2025, the highest rise since Xi Jinping became president in 2013.