A top-secret military aircraft the size of a US stealth bomber has been spotted flying around a base that has been called China‘s Area 51.
Aviation researcher Andreas Rupprecht, a specialist in Chinese military aircraft who posted the leaked photos of the nearly 50ft-long craft on social media, said it is believed to be a giant, twin-engine drone called the WZ-X.
Commercial satellites first captured images of the WZ-X at China’s Malan Air Base in May 2025. Secret test programs of futuristic aircraft at the Chinese facility have drawn comparisons to the infamous US base in Nevada linked to experimental aircraft and even UFOs.
Military analysts believe the ‘monster’ drone will be used by the Chinese Air Force for high-altitude, long-endurance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (HALE ISR).
This means it could be tasked with spotting US ships, mapping air defenses and passing along targeting data and locations for missile strikes.
Rupprecht, who has been recognized as a specialist on Chinese military aviation, said the top-secret drone likely has a range of 12,000 miles and can fly at altitudes of more than 60,000 feet.
This means the drone, nicknamed the ‘Monster of Malan’ by military media outlets, would be able to travel from China’s Area 51 and perform spy missions on any US city, from Los Angeles to New York, and still have fuel left to travel thousands of miles.
Although satellites have seen the alleged drone on the ground and in the air over northwest China, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force has not officially confirmed the aircraft’s existence, name or capabilities.
Satellite images have spotted a giant, unmanned aircraft being developed at a secret Chinese military facility
The craft is believed to be the WZ-X, a drone capable of reaching any US city
Based on images obtained from satellites, including from US aerospace company Planet Labs, the mystery craft is believed to be similar in shape to the US RQ-180 military drone, but much larger.
Its estimated wingspan of 170 feet would make it roughly the same size as an American B-2 stealth bomber, a plane which can carry both nuclear weapons and more conventional ‘bunker buster’ bombs.
While some military drones do carry a large array of missiles, it remains a mystery if the WZ-X is able to carry any weapons.
However, the drone’s flight ceiling of 66,000 feet, according to Rupprecht, would mean this spy craft is capable of cruising 16,000 feet higher than the B-2 bomber.
This means the air is much thinner, so the drone uses less fuel and can stay aloft for many hours while it potentially looks down on large cities or military bases.
At that height, and with its stealth aircraft shape, the WZ-X also becomes even harder to see on radar.
Rupprecht also noted in a social media post that a second, large flying-wing drone – sometimes called GJ-X – was also seen at the same base in China.
Malan has become the Chinese military’s main testing center for all types of unmanned aircraft, Rupprecht claimed.
Defense expert and author Andreas Rupprecht claimed the WZ-X would be used for spy missions on military ships, cities and defense installations
Multiple drones and experimental aircraft have been seen at the Chinese testing facility known as Malan Air Base
Area 51, an area of more than 2.9 million acres, is located at the Nevada Test and Training Range
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 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.
The CIA revealed previously classified documents that the top-secret facility in the Nevada desert was established in the 1950s and played a major role in the creation of America’s own revolutionary spy plane – the U-2.
Since then, amateur photographers and UFO researchers have captured numerous images and videos of strange and unknown objects flying over Area 51 that do not match the design of any known military aircraft.
While Malan Air Base has not been linked to the UFO phenomenon to the same level as Area 51, members of Congress and the White House claimed in the documentary ‘The Age of Disclosure’ that the US, Russia and China were all racing to be the first to fully weaponize non-human tech.
Documentary director Dan Farah said that several US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, believed the world was now locked in a new Cold War to reengineer the alien technology recovered from these ships.
Unnamed sources tied to the US Naval Air Systems Command have also claimed that two types of aircraft have been trying to spy on what the US has at a top-secret facility in Maryland known as Pax River.
The source told the Liberation Times that one was allegedly drones from China and the other was non-human UFOs.
