China's Newest Target-Practice "Ship" Looks Exactly Like a U.S. Destroyer
China's military is building increasingly detailed and sophisticated models of U.S. Navy warships at its target range out in Xinjiang, according to open-source intelligence analyst Damien Symon and UK paper The Telegraph.
China has been building out military testing and bombing ranges in its remote western deserts since at least the 2000s, and has added more and more realism to its mockups as time has gone by. Back in 2021, satellite imaging company Maxar Technologies released high-resolution photos of a Chinese test range that appeared carefully tailored for practicing attacks on U.S. Navy warships. The Taklamakan Desert site's most notable feature was an extra-wide-gauge rail line to nowhere. Supported on the rails was a mockup of a ship on wheels, ready to "maneuver" over the landscape to provide a realistic, moving, ship-like target. Nearby, two-dimensional mockups of familiar American warships - an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and a Ford-class carrier - were laid out on the moonscape of the desert sand.
At the time, analysts suggested that the purpose of the site was likely for ballistic-missile target practice. China possesses multiple anti-ship ballistic missiles, including the DF-21D, DF-26, and the hypersonic maneuvering YJ-21. Ship-shaped targets would be ideal for live-fire testing of these munitions.
New imaging obtained by the Telegraph confirms that China has indeed used the site for munitions testing, as suspected five years ago. The rail-mounted ship is still there at the Taklamakan site, but shows signs of heavy damage. Likewise, a 2D mockup of three destroyers in a seaport - a diorama that happens to resemble U.S. 7th Fleet's Yokosuka naval base - shows signs of multiple impacts, including a substantial crater.
China is not just building replicas of US warships; satellite images reveal it is also constructing highly detailed models of American fighter jets, crucial naval bases, and Taiwanese government buildings.
— Spotlight on China (@spotlightoncn) July 16, 2026
Beijing uses these precise mock-ups to test long-range precision weaponry…
In addition, the realism of the targets appears to be increasing, and is tailored specifically to mimic real-world assets. A new mockup of a warship started construction this February at the Taklamakan site, and has already taken final form: it is a detailed, three-dimensional Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, down to the VLS cell hatches, the five-inch gun, the radar configuration and exhaust stacks. It may not be seaworthy, but from the perspective of a missile's seeker head, it might look identical.
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Nearby sites contain rows of mockup F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighters, including some destroyed on the ground. Famously, another nearby desert site used for training assault troops contains full-size replicas of Taiwan's main government buildings, including the presidential residence and the parliament, all sited on a street layout mimicking downtown Taipei.
The Telegraph noted that all of these mockups are on open-air display, visible to anyone with access to a high-resolution satellite imaging service. That makes them not only a weapons testing program, but a message to the world - and specifically, a message to Taiwan and to the U.S. Navy.
