China Expands Secretive Desert Base For Stealth Jets

Beijing is rapidly reshaping a remote desert airfield in western China into a major test center for its most advanced military aircraft such as the J-36 stealth jet.

New satellite imagery shows a growing complex near Lop Nur, where China’s nuclear testing history now intersects with its push for next-generation airpower.

The expansion includes new hangars, taxiway construction, and additional support infrastructure. The site already has a roughly 5km (16,400-foot) runway, giving China considerable room to operate large experimental aircraft.

The changes could give the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) more space to test multiple aircraft programs away from populated areas. They also suggest Beijing wants to accelerate flight testing as its military aviation ambitions expand, Interesting Engineering said.

U.S And Iran Attack Ships In Strait Of Hormuz

Iran launched ballistic missiles at an airbase in Jordan and targeted U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers in response to the destruction of five Iranian oil tankers, while its Houthi allies in Yemen attacked Saudi oil assets.

On September 5, the U.S. attacked Iranian tankers at Kharg Island, Jask and in the Gulf of Oman. In retaliation, Iran fired missiles at a U.S. aircraft carrier and navy destroyer approaching the Strait of Hormuz. Five Iranian tankers were destroyed in response.

Tensions have been escalating as Iran and the U.S. exchange fire, but both sides are increasingly targeting shipping, and particularly oil tankers, raising the risk of an environmental catastrophe. Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen likewise launched an attack on a Saudi airbase and oil facilities in four cities as it strikes at the kingdom’s economic arteries.