China expands secret Xinjiang airbase near Lop Nor nuclear test site

September 1, 2026 at 07:57 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

China has expanded a secret airbase in Xinjiang's Lop Nor region into a major flight-test center for the People's Liberation Army. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs captured on August 27, 2026, shows the scale of construction, including a 5,000-meter runway. The base has hosted sixth-generation fighter prototypes J-36 and J-XDS this year.

Key Facts

Planet Labs captured high-resolution satellite imagery of the base on August 27, 2026.
The base is located near the Lop Nor nuclear test site in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The runway is approximately 5,000 meters long, one of the longest in the world.
In 2020, the base was used for testing reusable spaceplanes.

Base Expansion

China has expanded a secret airbase in the northwest of the country, comparable to the US secretive test site Area 51. The facility is used for testing experimental aircraft and next-generation combat planes. Over the past few years, the remote airfield has become a large-scale flight-test center for the People's Liberation Army. The pace of construction is increasing, and one of the latest infrastructure additions is of particular interest.

Satellite Imagery

High-resolution satellite images taken by Planet Labs on August 27, 2026, clearly show the scale of the changes. The base is located near the Lop Nor nuclear test site in the uninhabited and arid Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Lop Nor is China's main nuclear weapons test site, where China detonated its first nuclear device, Project 596, in 1964.

Aircraft Testing

This year, military observers first spotted two Chinese sixth-generation fighter projects, J-36 and J-XDS, at the base. For both aircraft, this was their first appearance at this location. Before the base was used for advanced air combat technology development, it was associated with Chinese military space programs. In 2020, reusable spaceplane tests were conducted there, when the facility was an unremarkable airfield with a runway about five kilometers long.