The People’s Liberation Army has built a large number of target ships in the Taklamakan desert Desert in Xinjiang similar shape to the US Navy aircraft carrier strike group.
It was reported by USNI news portal that the People’s Liberation Army has built a large number of complex facilities in the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, including a scaled US aircraft carrier (similar to Ford class aircraft carrier) and at least two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, And can even simulate a moving ship. “This complex facility proves that the People’s Liberation Army is developing capabilities, including anti-ship ballistic missiles, so in future, they can sink US Navy carrier strike group”.
Most of our military analysis knows that Chinese anti-ship ballistic missiles have been recognized as one of the greatest threats to American aircraft carriers in the Asia-Pacific region. However, numbers of experts still question the authenticity of China’s “aircraft carrier killer” because “There has never been reliable evidence that China has tried to use anti-ship ballistic missiles to attack naval ships, not to mention the fast-moving targets such as aircraft carriers”. Also once China Global times tweeted the accuracy of DF-26 carrier killer is 500-700m.
This satellite photo proves that PLA has been investing a lot of time and money in training in this area. According to reports, the Chinese Rocket Force’s “Dongfeng-21D” anti-ship ballistic missile has a range of more than 800 nautical miles, and the larger “Dongfeng-26” has a strike range of about 2,000 nautical miles. Judging from the range, it is sufficient to deter the aircraft carrier battle groups of the United States, Britain, and Japan. However, there is no actual evidence to confirm this info.
The full-scale outline of a U.S. carrier and at least two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are part of the target range that has been built in the Ruoqiang region in central China. The site is near a former target range China used to test early versions of its so-called carrier killer DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles, according to press reports in 2013.
This new range shows that China continues to focus on anti-carrier capabilities, with an emphasis on U.S. Navy warships. Unlike the Iranian Navy’s aircraft carrier-shaped target in the Persian Gulf, the new facility shows signs of a sophisticated instrumented target range.
The Chinese media also give an example of Japan to justify their so-called training “You should be able to see this episode. Japan used a large pool to simulate the port before the attack on Pearl Harbor and made a bombing mark, repeated practice, and then succeeded in a surprise attack in one fell swoop.
The carrier target itself appears to be a flat surface without the carrier’s island, aircraft lifts, weapons sponsons or other details, the imagery from Maxar shows. On radar, the outline of the carrier stands out from the surrounding desert – not unlike a target picture, according to imagery provided to USNI News by Capella Space.
There are two more target areas representing an aircraft carrier that do not have the metaling, but are distinguishable as carriers due to their outline. But other warship targets appear to be more elaborate. There are numerous upright poles positioned on them, possibly for instrumentation, according to the imagery. Alternatively these may be used for radar reflectors to simulate the superstructure of the vessel.
The facility also has an extensive rail system. An Oct. 9 image from Maxar showed a 75 meter-long target with extensive instrumentation on a 6 meter-wide rail.
The area has been traditionally used for ballistic missile testing, according to a summary of the Maxar images by geospatial intelligence company AllSource Analysis that identified the site from satellite imagery.
“The mockups of several probable U.S. warships, along with other warships (mounted on rails and mobile), could simulate targets related to seeking/target acquisition testing,” according to the AllSource Analysis summary, which said there are no indications of weapon impact areas in the immediate vicinity of the mockups. “This, and the extensive detail of the mockups, including the placement of multiple sensors on and around the vessel targets, it is probable that this area is intended for multiple uses over time.“
Analysis of historical satellite images shows that the carrier target structure was first built between March and April of 2019. It underwent several rebuilds and was then substantially dismantled in December 2019. The site came back to life in late September of this year and the structure was substantially complete by early October.
“In July 2019, the PLARF conducted its first-ever confirmed live-fire launch into the South China Sea, firing six DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles into the waters north of the Spratly Islands,” according to the Pentagon’s latest annual report on China’s military. The Chinese are also fielding a longer range anti-ship ballistic missile that initially emerged in 2016.
“The multi-role DF-26 is designed to rapidly swap conventional and nuclear warheads and is capable of conducting precision land-attack and anti-ship strikes in the Western Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the South China Sea from mainland China. In 2020, the PRC fired anti-ship ballistic missiles against a moving target in the South China Sea, but has not acknowledged doing so,” reads the report.
It’s not the first time China has built an aircraft carrier target in the desert. Since 2003, a large concrete pad, roughly the size of a carrier, has been used as a target. The slab, which is part of the Shuangchengzi missile test range, has been hit many times and is frequently repaired. The new site in the Taklamakan desert is 600 miles away and is much more evolved. The newer ship targets are closer approximations of the vessels that they are supposed to represent.