An Iranian drone was shot down as it "aggressively approached" an American aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, a US military spokesman has said, BBC reported. 

An F-35C stealth fighter jet which took off from the USS Abraham Lincoln warship shot down the drone "in self-defence" to protect the aircraft carrier and its personnel, US Central Command spokesman Capt Tim Hawkins said.

The ship was approximately 500 miles from the Iranian coast when the drone approached it with "unclear intent".

No US equipment was damaged and no service members were harmed, according to BBC.