Satellite imagery has captured evidence that China has constructed a mock-up resembling a U.S. Navy destroyer at a missile test site in a desert region in the northwest.

It is presumed to be a target for anti-ship missile testing.

Satellite photos released by Bloomberg on June 25 (local time) show a structure similar to the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyer installed at a missile test range in the Taklamakan Desert of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The structure was reportedly first identified by an official from a Taiwan-based security research institute, and it has been determined that construction began around October of last year.

Other satellite images also captured debris patterns around the mock-up, which are believed to be the result of missile strikes.

Previously, the U.S. Naval Institute stated in 2021, through an analysis of satellite imagery, that one target in the shape of a U.S. aircraft carrier and two targets in the shape of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers were identified at a test site in the Ruoqiang area of the Xinjiang region.

These vessels are among the primary assets of the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet, which operates mainly in the Western Pacific and the waters surrounding Taiwan.

(Photo: Getty Images)