Footage has surfaced online showing the moment a Chinese fighter jet crashed to the ground Friday.
The Shengyang J-15 was taking part in a training exercise when it went down in Lingao County in China's southernmost province of Hainan.
The Crash
A short video posted to Chinese social media, since removed, shows the jet plummeting at a near-vertical angle before exploding on impact. In the background, the pilot, who had ejected, can be seen parachuting downward.
Another clip shows two men assisting the pilot as they and a group of onlookers walk away from the crash site. Other videos show villagers gathered nearby, watching as black smoke continues to billow from the wreckage.
China's navy stated that no collateral damage had been reported and that the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry by email with a request for comment outside of office hours.
J-15 and the Southern Theater Command
The J-15 was operating under the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Southern Theater Command, which is headquartered in Guangzhou.
This command oversees military operations in some of the most strategic and contested areas of the region, including the South China Sea, where China is locked in a yearslong territorial dispute with U.S. defense treaty ally the Philippines and several other neighbors.
The Southern Theater Command also would likely be called on to support the Eastern Theater Command in an offensive against Taiwan. Beijing's Chinese Communist Party claims the island democracy as its territory, despite having never governed there, and has cranked up the pace and scope of military operations around the island in recent years.
J-15 and Its New Variants
The J-15, based on the Russian Sukhoi Su-33, is a fourth-generation carrier-based fighter that entered service in 2013. It serves as China's main carrier-based fighter, comparable to the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 Super Hornet.
Two new J-15 variants were unveiled in November 2024 at China's premier Zhuhai Airshow.
The J-15T is optimized for catapult-assisted takeoff, allowing it to operate from China's newest aircraft carrier, CNS Fujian.
The Fujian's catapult launch system provides a major advantage over the ski-jump takeoff used on China's older carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, enabling aircraft to carry more fuel and weapons.
The J-15D is a dedicated electronic warfare variant, designed for jamming enemy radar and communications. It is expected to perform a role similar to the U.S. Navy's EA-18G Growler.
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This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 2:36 PM.