NEW YORK, March 15. /TASS/. The MQ-9 Reaper drone of the United States, intercepted by Russian fighter jets above the Black Sea, was unarmed, The New York Times reported citing an unnamed high-ranking Pentagon official.

"While the drones, known as Reapers, can carry Hellfire missiles, this aircraft was unarmed and conducting surveillance about 75 miles (about 120 km) southwest of Crimea," the paper wrote with reference to an unnamed official said.

According to the report, the aircraft took off from an airbase in Romania on Tuesday morning. Normally, such reconnaissance sorties last 9-10 hours, the source told the New York Times.

Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder told reporters on Tuesday that the US drone had been on an ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) mission above the Black Sea. He gave no direct answer to the question of whether the UAV was armed during the mission.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian airspace control systems have detected an American MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle on Tuesday, flying over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula towards the state border of the Russian Federation. The drone flew with its transponders off, violating the boundaries of the temporary airspace regime established for the special military operation, communicated to all users of international airspace, and published in accordance with international standards.

The ministry added that as a result of quick maneuvering, the drone went into an unguided flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface. The ministry stressed that the Russian aircraft did not use on-board weapons, did not come into contact with the unmanned aerial vehicle, and returned safely to their home airfield.

MQ-9 Reaper is a modular reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. It is equipped with a turboprop engine and can develop a speed of more than 400 kilometer per hour. The maximal flight duration is 24 hours. The drone is capable of carrying air-to-surface and air-to-air missiles, and laser-guided bombs.