Shocking video has emerged of a US fighter jet crashing to the ground after it hit a tanker during an air-to-air refuelling operation in California.

The F-35B stealth combat aircraft made contact with a KC-130J tanker near Salton Sea in Imperial County on Wednesday (September 30), allowing it to remain airborne for a longer period of time.

Footage shared by witnesses on Instagram shows the combat jet rapidly falling from the sky and smashing into the ground before a huge fireball erupts.

A woman is heard screaming: “Oh my God! You guys!” while her friends walk up to the front to film.

Plumes of black smoke fill the sky as the £77m fighter jet burns.

First responders on the ground also reported that the jet “disintegrated” after bursting into flames.