Satellite imaging company Maxar Technologies obtained photos of a target in the distinct shape of an American aircraft carrier on a rocket firing range in the deserts of Xinjiang, China.

The two-dimensional cloth target is roughly the same shape as a US Navy Fordclass transporter, according to analyst HI Sutton, who first posted the footage to USNI News, and it appears to be reflecting the radar. It is accompanied by another familiar shape, a clear 2D model of a Arleigh burke– destroyer class. In addition, the site was equipped with a mobile rail-mounted “ship” target, as well as a large warehouse and building support complex.

Support installation with a target mounted on a rail, bottom left (satellite image © 2021 Maxar Technologies)

Photos show that the support complex (above) has a road connecting the new Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway, a single-line track that was just completed in September.

The site is located in the sparsely populated Taklamakan Desert west of Ruoquiang, Xinjiang Province (approx. 38 49.1 N 87 45.2 E). The flat plain of the test site is a lunar landscape, and it appears to have only recently been developed for testing. In previous Maxar images used by Google Maps, the target facility – as well as several new pieces of road and rail infrastructure – do not appear at all, only a few solid farms and a two-lane highway.

A second target with a configuration distinctly similar to an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer (satellite image © 2021 Maxar Technologies)

The fictitious aircraft carrier and destroyer are on the same heading, about four nautical miles apart on a sea of ​​sand (satellite image © 2021 Maxar Technologies)

A target mounted on a rail. The photos show that at least two of these targets are in use on the tracks. (Satellite image © 2021 Maxar Technologies)

Analysts believe the purpose of the site may be the practice of ballistic missile fire. China is known to have two anti-ship ballistic missiles, the carrier-killer DF-21D and DF-26, and it is possible that the ship-shaped targets will be used for live fire tests of this munitions; however, as of November 1, there was no sign of impact crater or other property damage at the site.

Lu Li-shih, an analyst and former instructor at the Taiwan Naval Academy, told the South China Morning Post that the location of the site is important. It is about 1,600 miles from known PLA Rocket Force launch sites in Inner Mongolia – just about perfect for simulating a long-range strike from central China to the South China Sea, or from southeast China to the US naval base in Guam.

“Beijing’s message to Americans is, ‘don’t think carrier strike groups are unbeatable,’ Chinese military researcher Zhou Chenming told SCMP. “Now even the US naval bases in the region are under the cover of the PLA DFs. -26 and other medium-range ballistic missiles. “

For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has denied knowledge of the target facility.