China's desert "aircraft carriers" train to sink U.S. warships

China is meticulously preparing to counter U.S. naval power by using desert landscapes as vast training grounds for sinking American warships. Recent satellite imagery shows full-scale mock-ups of U.S. aircraft carriers and at least two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the Badain Jaran desert, Inner Mongolia.

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The three-dimensional copies of the American destroyers can provide practice in spotting radar signatures. The models roll on rails that are intended to provide training in shooting at moving targets.

This advanced facility appears to be a significant upgrade from previous exercises, which used large, painted concrete slabs. The new mock-ups are equipped with extensive rail systems, allowing them to move. Defense economist Per Olsson from FOI, who monitors China's military modernization, explains that these "three-dimensional copies of American destroyers can provide practice in spotting radar signatures." He adds that the models rolling on rails are intended to train "shooting at moving targets."

Olsson emphasizes the "kill chain" involved in naval warfare: detecting ships via satellite, engaging them with missiles, updating targeting information, and hitting a moving object. The new facility in Xinjiang, about 1,000 kilometers from the previous one, is considered more sophisticated, with detailed targets and numerous sensors suggesting long-term use. Experts note the absence of signs of actual weapon impact.

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It can look impressive when missiles are lobbed in from hundreds of kilometers away, but from a military-technical perspective, ships are moving targets. It's about a 'kill chain': detecting the ships via satellite, shooting at them, updating the information, and in an exercise, hitting something that is moving.

The development underscores China's strategic focus on developing weapons capable of neutralizing large vessels. The recent mass production of the YJ-20, a hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missile, highlights this. Traveling at over five times the speed of sound and possessing a range of approximately 1,500 kilometers, the YJ-20 is described as nearly unstoppable and capable of sinking large ships, including aircraft carriers, with a single hit. China's strategy, according to Olsson, is to neutralize U.S. military advantages in the region, namely its aircraft carriers and airbases, thereby deterring U.S. intervention in potential conflicts, such as over Taiwan.

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The USA's military power in the region is dependent on its aircraft carriers and airbases when waging war. China is trying to neutralize both.