Deep in the Badain Jaran Desert, there is a mysterious oasis of trees and lakes, but the fighter planes soaring in the sky remind people that it is China's only aviation and air defense experiment and training base. China's famous J-10 fighter jets were tested there.

The 50-year-old base has witnessed the growth and development of the Chinese Air Force. In 1958, China Air Weapon Test and Training Range, the forerunner of the base, was built in the desert on Chairman Mao Zedong's order. In December 1959, the Range launched China's first air-to-air missile and in 1964 China's first atomic bomb was delivered to its test site from here.

Pilots march out on a brand new day. [File photo]

The birthplace of fighters and missiles

The final target practice of J-10 fighters was conducted in the desert on Christmas Day (December 25), 2003.

As the missile launched by the fighter precisely hit a target nearly a hundred kilometers away, deafening cheers drowned everything in the control room. The explosion was like a firework celebrating the fact that China had joined the ranks of the few countries that can independently produce third-generation fighters.

J-10 fighters take off on a trial flight. [File photo]

On January 9, 2005, the J-10 fighter destroyed a target with a newly-produced air-to-air missile. The success demonstrated that a new generation of air weapons developed by the Chinese Air Force had reached battle effectiveness.

The test of the J-10 fighters is just one of the missions carried out by the base. Target testing is an important phase in the weapons production process. Only when new weapons have passed stringent tests, can they be put into production and used to equip the troops.

In the past 50 years, the base has approved three generations of home-made air-defense missiles as well as third-generation multi-functional fighters, CK-1 unmanned target drones, and supersonic unmanned jets.

CK-1 unmanned target prone [File photo]

Future aces take off in the desert

The desert base has not just developed advanced fighters, but also trained elite pilots and practiced sophisticated drills.

In January 2008, Xu Zhongmin and his crew were assigned to break through "enemy's" defense and destroy several huge targets in a drill. They flew against a strong wind, eluding the attacks of electromagnetic waves. All the data were monitored and evaluated on the screen in the control room. Nearly all the air force troops are trained and tested in such a cruel exercise.