China built full-size models of US warships and aircraft to hone its missiles

At remote sites, China has built an array of replicas that allow its troops and engineers to train to attack Taiwan and the US military.Vantor / TelegraphChina has built an array of replica ships, aircraft and bases in its desert expanse.New images show an extensive buildup of targets and a focus on the US and Taiwan.

One former military official said the scale of this training was "unprecedented."China is not just building replicas of US warships.Satellite images analyzed by The Telegraph — a member of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network that includes Business Insider — reveal it is also building models of fighter jets, naval bases and Taiwanese presidential buildings.

Beijing has been using these models to test its ever-growing stockpile of long-range weapons and new AI systems as it prepares to take control of Taiwan — a top priority of Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.The accuracy of the replicas "signals a highly specific focus on potential adversaries rather than generic capability building", said Damien Symon, a geo-intelligence researcher at the AI-analysis firm The Intel Lab, who first identified several of the maritime models.While it is unknown if the US would officially come to Taiwan's defense, most experts agree that Washington would probably step in.

Without American support, Taiwan would struggle to remain autonomous.China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has also built to-scale models of Taiwan's presidential office and key government buildings so soldiers can practice storming the capital in the most realistic setting possible."They're basically creating replicas to provide them with the ability to maneuver through there on a training operation as though they were standing in Taipei," said Sean O'Connor, lead satellite image analyst at defence firm Janes.

Satellite images last year showed that China had built a 280km-long tunnel connecting the different replicas of Taiwan's government buildings to prepare for a scenario in which the country's