China Builds Full-Scale U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke Destroyer Replica for Anti-Ship Missile Tests.

China has built a full-scale three-dimensional replica of a U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer at a remote weapons-testing range in the Taklamakan Desert. The mock-up gives the People's Liberation Army a realistic target for refining strike tactics against one of the U.S. Navy's primary air defense and missile warfare assets operating around Taiwan.

The newly identified structure closely resembles an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, a warship that routinely escorts U.S. aircraft carriers and conducts freedom of navigation operations across the Western Pacific. Unlike earlier flat target outlines seen at Chinese test sites, the three-dimensional replica allows the PLA to evaluate sensors, targeting systems, and precision-guided weapons against a more realistic representation of an operational U.S. surface combatant. Analysts say the development underscores Beijing's continued focus on preparing for high-end maritime conflict scenarios in the Taiwan Strait.

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A U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, the type of warship reproduced by China as a full-scale target in the Taklamakan Desert. (Picture source: US DoD)

The approximately 155-meter-long mock-up reproduces several visible elements of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, including its hull, forward gun position, bridge, funnel, and helicopter flight deck. Unlike the flat silhouettes previously identified at Chinese desert ranges, the new structure possesses a raised superstructure that could generate more representative radar, infrared and electro-optical signatures.

CNN reported on July 11, 2026, that the replica had been built at a missile-testing facility in Xinjiang, using satellite imagery supplied by U.S. geospatial intelligence company Vantor. Additional imagery examined by The Telegraph on July 15 placed the structure within a wider Chinese network of targets reproducing American warships and military installations. Beijing has not publicly confirmed the purpose of the new replica or identified any weapons tested against it.

Satellite observations indicate that construction began around October 2025. Imagery captured by Vantor on May 11, 2026, showed the principal features already assembled. The target stands among large desert dunes, far from populated areas and more than 1,000 kilometers from the nearest coastline. These conditions allow China to conduct controlled weapons and sensor trials without the maritime traffic, weather variations and foreign observation associated with testing at sea.

The structure appears to reproduce the general dimensions of an Arleigh Burke Flight IIA or Flight III destroyer, although the available imagery does not establish a specific variant. These warships measure approximately 155 meters in length and displace between 9,000 and nearly 10,000 tonnes, depending on their configuration. Flight IIA and Flight III ships carry 96 Mk 41 vertical launch cells capable of accommodating Standard surface-to-air missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles, and anti-submarine weapons.

Their Aegis combat system allows the destroyers to provide air and missile defense for U.S. carrier strike groups while also conducting anti-submarine, anti-surface and land-attack missions. Several Arleigh Burke-class ships are permanently based at Yokosuka, Japan, as part of Destroyer Squadron 15 and the U.S. Seventh Fleet. CNN compared the desert replica with USS Fitzgerald, a Flight I destroyer assigned to this forward-deployed force.

The selection of an Arleigh Burke-class ship is therefore operationally relevant. In a conflict around Taiwan, these destroyers would likely protect aircraft carriers, amphibious groups, logistics vessels, and forward bases from Chinese aircraft and missiles. They could also launch Tomahawk strikes and contribute to ballistic missile defense. Disabling the escorts would expose larger and less maneuverable ships to follow-on attacks while reducing the U.S. Navy’s ability to maintain an integrated defensive screen.

China has used ship-shaped desert targets for several years. Satellite images released by Maxar Technologies in 2021 revealed a full-scale aircraft carrier outline and at least two structures resembling Arleigh Burke-class destroyers at the Ruoqiang range. One section of the complex contained a six-meter-wide rail system carrying ship-sized targets, potentially allowing engineers to simulate a moving vessel. Upright poles positioned around other mock-ups were assessed as possible radar reflectors or measuring instruments.

A later target completed in 2023 closely reproduced the outline and dimensions of the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier. That structure included a representation of the island and markings corresponding to the carrier’s flight-deck arrangement. The progressive addition of physical and electronic detail suggests that the function of these targets may extend beyond measuring whether a missile can land inside the outline of a large ship.

A three-dimensional replica can support more demanding trials of terminal guidance systems. A missile approaching a naval formation must identify the intended vessel among escorts, auxiliaries, decoys and electronic interference. Radar, infrared or electro-optical seekers must then maintain the track and select an appropriate impact point despite the target’s movement. Reproducing the bridge, funnel and deck arrangement could help Chinese engineers assess automatic target recognition and determine whether a seeker can distinguish an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer from other vessels.

The structure may also be used to measure how a sensor reacts to different radar reflectors, thermal sources or electronic countermeasures. Instruments positioned around the target could record the missile’s trajectory and terminal corrections without requiring the weapon to strike the structure. This would allow the range to support seeker development, target-acquisition testing and guidance calibration over multiple trials. The imagery does not, however, reveal what equipment is installed inside or around the new replica.

According to CNN, analysts believe the target could help refine the targeting of Chinese hypersonic weapons. However, no publicly available evidence links the new replica to a specific missile or confirms that it has already been used in a weapons test. The U.S. Department of Defense’s 2025 report attributes anti-ship roles to the DF-21, DF-26, and DF-27 ballistic missiles, and describes the YJ-21 as a hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missile. The existence of these weapons explains the value of a realistic naval target, but any direct connection between them and this facility remains unconfirmed.

The target does not demonstrate that China can reliably strike a maneuvering U.S. destroyer under operational conditions. It nevertheless shows continued investment in testing against representations of specific American warships rather than generic naval targets. Combined with mobile targets, carrier mock-ups and China’s expanding inventory of long-range anti-ship weapons, the new Arleigh Burke replica reflects preparations focused on complicating U.S. naval intervention in a future Indo-Pacific conflict.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in Security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.