What appear to be US warplanes are destroyed in the Chinese desert (Picture: SWNS)
China appears to be destroying the latest U.S. warplanes in the middle of a desert as part of military drills.
Satellite pictures appear to show mock-ups of American F-35 and F-22 fighter jets in a remote desert area in northwest China.
Many of the dummy aircraft seem to have been blown up, while a nearby runway displays scorch marks and bomb blast craters.
Further types of aircraft dot the landscape, along with several hangers and radar-like towers.
The satellite pictures of the Taklamakan Desert location, obtained by Airbus and Google Earth, were captured on May 29, 2024.
China has previously been reported as constructing a mock US navy aircraft carrier in the desert.
The latest planes are the most advanced of the F-35s (Picture: USAF)
Craters are seen nearby from other military drills (Picture: SWNS)
The F-35A is the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) latest fifth-generation fighter.
It’s description says it ‘will provide next-generation stealth, enhanced situational awareness, and reduced vulnerability for the United States and allied nations.’
The F-22 Raptor performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, ‘allowing full realisation of operational concepts vital to the 21st century Air Force,’ the USAF said.
Tensions between China and the US have been rising for years. In one instance, a Chinese fighter jet was ‘unnecessarily aggressive’ to a US military plane.
The US command in the Indo-Pacific said the Chinese J-16 fighter jet cut across its RC-135 aircraft in 2023 while over the South China Sea, and forced it to fly through its wake turbulence.
Beijing hit back and blamed US ‘provocation’ for the incident, claiming the country’s plane ‘broke into’ its military training area.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, added: ‘This kind of provocative, dangerous activity is the cause of security issues on the seas.’
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