What China’s Lop Nur desert base expansion means for PLA stealth jets in race with US

China is rapidly expanding a flight-test facility deep in its western desert, satellite imagery has revealed, a push that analysts say could help fast track the development of its next-generation military aircraft as air-power rivalry with the United States intensifies.Latest satellite photos of the facility near Lop Nur, in China’s western Xinjiang region, show four large new hangars, new taxiway work, a circular pad believed to be an engine-run or turnaround area, and possible fuel-storage infrastructure, according to an August 28 analysis by defence website TWZ.The expansion comes as China pursues multiple advanced combat-aircraft programmes at once, potentially giving it greater capacity to test sensitive designs and conduct simultaneous flight-test programmes away from routine observation.