China is bombing models of American fighter jets as part of a rehearsal of a military assault, new satellite photos have revealed.
The satellite images, taken by Planet Labs over a remote desert area in northwest China, show massive scorch marks next to low-tech models of F-35s and F-22s, some of the most advanced jets used by the US Army.
The photos also show a long runway with several scotch marks at the top end.
It is not currently known exactly what weapons were used to leave the marks, but the Times reported that the scale of them would suggest precision missiles were used.
The desert, the Taklamakan in Xinjiang province, already hosts military testing sites. Three years ago, it was revealed that China had built up models of an American Ford-class aircraft carrier and two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
It comes as a Chinese military drone hovered near an airport on a remote Taiwan island causing delays to flights, Taipei’s military and local media said on Wednesday.
Liberty Times said the drone was spotted around five nautical miles from Matsu’s Nangan Airport on Tuesday, and it stayed around for about 20 minutes.
Beijing claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.
In addition to military pressure from Chinese warplanes and vessels that maintain a near-daily presence around the island, Taiwan has faced incursions from civilian and unidentified drones that surveil and harass troops.
The army’s Matsu Defence Command confirmed an unspecified ‘Chinese military drone’ was detected Tuesday morning.
Matsu is around 200 kilometres northwest of Taipei, but much closer to mainland China.
‘Since its flight route was close to the take-off and landing channels of civilian aircraft, the Nangan Airport Tower was notified to complete relevant handling to ensure aviation safety,’ it said without elaborating.
China has become increasingly bullish against the West, in particular the US for its stance on Taiwan’s independence.
Taiwan and the US insist that the island nation ought to be an independent sovereign state, while China claims to control it.
China has taken indirect military action against Taiwan as recently as May this year, holding a massive two-day exercise around the island as ‘strong punishment’ for the self-ruled nation’s ‘separatist acts.’
In response to president William Lai calling on China to stop threatening the island and to accept that Taiwan is a self-governing nation, China sent naval and air patrols to similar what a full-scale attack would look like.
China has also lashed out over the US strengthening relations with Taiwan, which has become a valuable partner for major nations in recent years due to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest independent semi-conductor maker.
In June, the country’s president Xi Jinping told European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen that he believed the US was trying to goad his nation into attack Taiwan.
The FT reported that while he said he believed the US was trying to trick China into invading Taiwan, he would not take the bait.
China launched live-fire drills in August 2022 after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island, which she said was a sign of the US’ ‘unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy.’