This is a file photo unrelated to the article. Satellite image of the Taklamakan Desert released by Maxar Technologies in 2021. A mockup appearing to resemble a U.S. warship was captured. [SATELLITE IMAGE 2021 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES. EPA=Yonhap News File Photo]

Satellite imagery has captured evidence that China has constructed a mockup resembling a U.S. Navy destroyer at a missile testing range in a desert region in the northwest.

Military experts are focusing on the possibility that this structure is being used as a target for anti-ship missile testing.

According to a Bloomberg report on the 25th, the satellite images show a structure similar to the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyer installed at a missile testing range in the Taklamakan Desert of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

It is reported that the structure was first identified by an official from a Taiwanese security research organization, and analysis of the satellite imagery indicates that construction began around October of last year.

Other satellite images also captured signs of debris around the mockup, which are believed to be the result of missile strikes.

Based on the satellite images, military experts estimate that this facility is being used to test Chinese anti-ship weapons, such as anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Previously, the U.S. Naval Institute announced in 2021, through analysis of satellite imagery, that one aircraft carrier-shaped target and two Arleigh Burke-class destroyer-shaped targets had been identified at a testing range in Ruoqiang, Xinjiang.

The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet operates aircraft carriers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers as its primary assets in the Western Pacific and the waters surrounding Taiwan.

However, Bloomberg noted that the use of military target mockups for weapons testing is not exclusive to China.

The military media outlet Defense Post reported last year that the United States has also built targets depicting Chinese air defense systems for weapons testing.

In the past, China has also constructed facilities at military bases in Inner Mongolia modeled after the Presidential Office Building and the Judicial Yuan in Taiwan for training purposes.