Chilling satellite images reveal China’s secret nuke base | World | News

Satellite images appear to show that China is preparing to carry out nuclear tests at a secretive military base. Lop Nur is located in the Taklamakan Desert close to the Gobi and has been compared to the famous US complex Area 51.

It is a major centre for the testing and development of China’s most advanced military technology. The base was originally used to test China’s first nuclear weapon in 1964. However, it could again soon resume its original purpose, according to a military expert.

Renny Babiarz says satellite images show evidence of a new and improved nuclear testing site.

The former US Department of Defence analyst studied satellite images taken of the secretive base from between 2020 and 2024. He discovered new boreholes and horizontal tunnels, which are used to explode nuclear devices.

Additionally, the images revealed new access roads, support buildings and what appear to be storage facilities for highly explosive materials.

Now vice-president for Allsource Analysis, he argued the images strongly suggest China id gearing up to resume nuclear testing after a 30 year hiatus, and might already have started.

“China has prepared to be able to test, should it want to, almost any time it wants to,” he told the Telegraph.

“China’s done a lot of that preparation and these observations reinforce the idea that this is a new area and it’s active.”

Beijing is reportedly growing its stockpile of nuclear weapons at a faster rate than any other country.

A report published in June by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated China currently has around 600 atomic warheads.

It claimed that Beijing has been adding around 100 weapons to its nuclear arsenal per year.

China is believed to have 24 nuclear warheads already placed on missiles or located in bases with operational forces. This means that they could be deployed at very short notice.