EXCLUSIVE - Mysterious sightings at 'China's Area 51' spark major warnings to America over top secret weapons
By CHRIS MELORE, US DEPUTY SCIENCE EDITOR
A secretive Chinese base that has been compared to America's Area 51 is believed to be testing the next generation of stealth warfare, with one expert warning that China has likely taken a clear lead in this new arms race.
In recent months, the first images of a mysterious new aircraft were captured at Malan Air Base, a remote facility in the northwestern province of Xinjiang.
Aviation researcher Andreas Rupprecht, a specialist on Chinese military aircraft who has published multiple books on the topic, told the Daily Mail Malan has become China's most important testing center for drones of all kinds.
Rupprecht and other experts looking at satellite images taken of the base have concluded that the giant, flying-wing design seen at the facility was the WZ-X, a twin-engine drone believed to be capable of reaching any city in the US.
The so-called 'Monster of Malan' is expected to be used by the Chinese Air Force for high-altitude, long-endurance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (HALE ISR). It is believed to have a range of 12,000 miles, at heights over 60,000 feet.
However, what concerned Rupprecht even more was the fact that this unmanned stealth aircraft was already taking test flights – something defense contractors for the next generation of US aircraft say is still up to two years away.
Rupprecht warned: 'China already has at least six CCAs [Collaborative Combat Aircraft] in testing - not just in one to two years. At least two of them are significantly larger, heavier, use much more powerful engines and are likely also carrying more armament and sensors.'
While Malan has become China's main testing site for experimental aircraft, just like the infamous US base in the Nevada desert, Rupprecht revealed that even more terrifying weapons systems were being readied for use at five secret bases scattered throughout the communist nation.
The giant craft seen in satellite pictures of Malan Air Base in China is believed to be the WZ-X, a drone capable of reaching any US city
China's secret drone base has been compared to Area 51 (Pictured), located at the Nevada Test and Training Range
'The PLAAF [People's Liberation Army Air Force] is now evidently developing another state-of-the-art, specialized base at Lop Nur, in addition to its existing test sites – Yanliang (CFTE), followed by Dingxin, Malan and Cangzhou,' Rupprecht detailed.
Lop Nur sits in a remote desert east of Korla in the province of Xinjiang. The base has already been linked to secret nuclear testing in 2020 as the US believes Lop Nur plays a major role in the building of China's growing nuclear arsenal. It was also where China detonated its first nuclear bomb in October 1964.
As the base now expands its operations, potentially also adding drone development as well, Rupprecht revealed that China's state-of-the-art military warplanes were believed to be training here, alongside combat drone prototypes which would act like robot wingmen.
'Testing in Lop Nur or Dingxin is already being conducted with the J-20 and there are many indications it's also already being conducted with the J-36 [and] J-XDS.'
Dingxin is believed to be China's big tactics and training base in the Gobi Desert in northwest China's Gansu province.
Yanliang Chinese Flight Test Establishment is allegedly the nation's main factory flight-test center in Shaanxi province, while Cangzhou Air Base near Beijing serves as a flight test and training base for the PLAAF.
As for Malan, satellite photos dating back to 2022 have shown that the base has undergone a massive expansion, adding new hangars, runways and other buildings likely connected to the building of large spy planes like the WZ-X and its armed counterpart, the GJ-X.
These alleged programs have sparked concerning comparisons to America's Area 51, which the US intelligence community admitted was real and not just a myth in 2013.
Multiple drones and experimental aircraft have been seen at the Chinese testing facility known as Malan Air Base
Rupprecht did not consider Malan to be the 'super secret' base that Area 51 has been over the years, noting that its intentionally hard-to-reach location was the main reason so little is known about what happens there.
'Malan is the PLAAF's test center for drones of all kinds,' he said, adding that it serves as the home for China's 180th Air Brigade and 178th unmanned aerial vehicle brigade, the country's most important operational brigade for drones.
'The fact that the WZ-X is already there is a clear indication of its importance and function, and [it's] actually quite surprising, as no basic testing had previously been observed anywhere else.'
The WZ-X is estimated to be the same size as an American B-2 stealth bomber, a plane which can carry both nuclear weapons and more conventional 'bunker buster' bombs.
Although Rupprecht does not believe this massive spy plane will carry any weapons on its long-range missions, he warned that the GJ-X would have weapons, and may serve as a robot companion for Chinese fighter aircraft.
'The GJ-X - which is also currently being tested in Malan - is a genuine combat drone, which may even accompany the H-20 as a CCA, just as the J-36 and J-XDS is guiding the CCAs, unveiled at the parade in September 2025. Other drones, such as the Navy's GJ-11 and GJ-21, are most certainly armed.'
Despite the massive military buildup at Malan and the other facilities, Rupprecht cautioned that there were no signs that a major conflict was about to erupt.
Instead, he noted that the rapid advancement in Chinese military breakthroughs was the real worry for both the US and its allies in NATO in the future.
'What we certainly ought to be concerned about is what is being tested there,' he said.
The Lop Nur base (pictured) sits in a remote desert east of Korla in the province of Xinjiang
Satellite images have spotted a giant, unmanned aircraft called the WZ-X being developed and test flown at a secret Chinese military facility
Another large drone, called the GJ-X, is believed to carry weapons and reach targets thousands of miles away from China
Andreas Rupprecht is an aviation researcher who has specialized on Chinese military aircraft and published multiple books on the topic
Rupprecht pushed back on the messaging coming from US defense giants, such as Lockheed Martin, who recently unveiled their own version of a remote-controlled stealth plane expected to fight alongside military pilots.
On September 14, Lockheed revealed the unmanned combat drone called Vectis, a tailless, flying-wing design with enhanced stealth abilities and weapons payloads.
However, the full-size drone was just a model, shown at a major US Air Force conference in Washington.
The first full-scale prototype is expected to be delivered to the military by the end of 2027.
The defense expert claimed Lockheed's representative at last year's conference gave a speech saying 'we are the greatest,' 'we are leading by a wide margin,' 'no one comes close, even in the next few years,' but then ended the presentation by admitting 'in one or two years it will fly!'
Lockheed Martin revealed the new aircraft at a major Air Force conference in Washington
Sightings from China's Malan Air Base in the ghobi desert have given cause for concern
'After that grandiose presentation, I wandered over to [Lockheed Martin's] booth, asked for information here and there about the engine, dimensions, range, payload and so on,' Rupprecht recalled.
'It quickly became clear that it's significantly smaller, has a less powerful engine, and falls short in range, payload, sensor systems, and so on, compared to what we'd expect from at least the newly revealed Chinese CCAs.'
On top of China's apparent lead in the arms race to build next generation drones, the expert noted that America's futuristic fighter plane, the F-47, is also still in the research and development phase.
'I therefore consider the statement in the presentation to be somewhat risky, if not downright incorrect!'
{ https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/index.html }
Mars Was Supposed to Be Red, But ESA Just Revealed a Purple Landscape Hidden at the Planet’s South Pole
