TOKYO -- China has set up what appears to be a mock-up of an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) plane used by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) in a desert area of Xinjiang, Nikkei has determined, based on expert analysis of satellite photographs. The object is possibly a dummy target used for training to attack SDF aircraft with missiles.
Tom Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security (CNAS) pointed out in an interview with Nikkei Asia that the object appears to be a model of the JASDF's E-767 aircraft.
