China rehearses assault on US stealth fighter bases

China is bombing models of American fighter jets as part of a rehearsal of a military assault, new satellite photos have revealed.

The images, taken by Planet Labs over a remote desert area in northwest China, show massive scorch marks next to low-tech models of F-35s and F-22s, some of the most advanced jets used by the US Army.

The photos also show a long runway with several scotch marks at the top end.

It is not currently known exactly what weapons were used to leave the marks, but the Times reported that the scale of them would suggest precision missiles were used.

The desert, the Taklamakan in Xinjiang province, already hosts military testing sites. Three years ago, it was revealed that China had built up models of an American Ford-class aircraft carrier and two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

It comes as a Chinese military drone hovered near an airport on a remote Taiwan island causing delays to flights, Taipei's military and local media said on Wednesday.

Liberty Times said the drone was spotted around five nautical miles from Matsu's Nangan Airport on Tuesday, and it stayed around for about 20 minutes.

Beijing claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.

In addition to military pressure from Chinese warplanes and vessels that maintain a near-daily presence around the island, Taiwan has faced incursions from civilian and unidentified drones that surveil and harass troops.