Tensions have been mounting in Taiwan, and both the US and China have been refining their wartime strategies and battle tactics to defeat each other. In the latest move, Beijing has been practicing blowing up the United States (US) frontline fighter jets F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptors.
New satellite imagery has shown that China has been practicing bombing the models of American fighter jets, most probably through precision strikes. What could be the aftermath of the Chinese military assault, the image reveals scorched F-35s and F-22s stationed at one end of a long runway.
China regularly conducts drills at the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang province. The target range complex has several military testing sites. Three years ago, photos provided to USNI News by satellite imagery company Maxar revealed that China had built up models of an American Ford-class aircraft carrier and two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
The full-size aircraft carrier mock-up was near a former target range China used to test early versions of its carrier killer DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles. In January 2024, it was revealed that China had built a full-scale mock-up of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the US Navy’s Supercarrier, at the target complex. This development aligns with China’s continued focus on anti-carrier capabilities against the US.
However, the presence of the low-tech models of the US 5th generation fighter jets F-35s and F-22s has only one explanation: the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been rehearsing airstrikes on the target area. The site also has mock-ups of P-8A Poseidon and U-2 reconnaissance planes.
F-35s are the fighter-of-choice for allies across the Indo-Pacific to deliver advanced missiles from land and sea. In addition to the USAF’s F-35As, the US Marine Corps’ and Navy’s F-35s have maintained a continuous presence in the Indo-Pacific, including recent F-35B training with South Korean F-35As and F-35C operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
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