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A US military MQ-9 surveillance drone has crashed into the Black Sea after being intercepted by Russian fighter jets, in the first such incident since Russia's invasion of Ukraine over a year ago.

The Pentagon said that one of the Russian Su-27 jets struck the propeller of the drone, making it inoperable, while Russia's defense ministry blamed "sharp maneuvering" of the unmanned drone for the crash and said that its jets did not come into contact with it.

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, US Army General Christopher Cavoli, briefed NATO allies about the incident, which was roundly condemned by the White House and the Pentagon - which warned of the risk of escalation.

The US State Department said it was summoning Russia's ambassador over the incident.

Two Russian Su-27 jets carried out what the US military described as a reckless intercept of the US spy drone before one of them collided with it at 7.03am local time.

Several times before the collision, the Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on the MQ-9 - possibly trying to blind or damage it -- and flew in front of the unmanned drone in unsafe manoeuvres, the US military said.

"Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9," US Air Force General James Hecker, who oversees the US air force in the region, said in a statement.

"In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash."

Russia's defence ministry said the US drone went into the water as a result of "sharp manoeuvring" by it.

"The Russian fighters did not use their onboard weapons, did not come into contact with the UAV, and returned safely to their home airfield," the ministry said.

While the United States is not sailing warships in the Black Sea, it has routinely been flying surveillance aircraft in and around the area.

The US military said the incident followed a pattern of dangerous behaviour by Russian pilots operating near aircraft flown by the US and its allies, including over the Black Sea, which lies between Europe and Asia and is bordered by countries including Russia and Ukraine.

The White House said the drone's downing was unique, however, and would be raised directly by the State Department with their Russian counterparts.

"We have been flying over that airspace consistently now for a year... and we're going to continue to do that," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

"We don't need to have some sort of check-in with the Russians before we fly in international airspace. There's no requirement to do that nor do we do it," Kirby added.

The United States will on Tuesday afternoon summon Russia's ambassador to the US over the incident, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

The US ambassador to Moscow has conveyed a strong message to Russia's foreign affairs ministry, Price told reporters.

The MQ-9 "Reaper" drone, which is built by General Atomics, has a wingspan of 20 metres and is about 11 metres long.

The drone weighs about 2220kg when it is empty.

© RAW 2023

Gold Coast veteran Kieran Foran has backed his halves partner Tanah Boyd to bounce back quickly from his howler against St George Illawarra.

Halfback Boyd didn't handle the stiff wind at Kogarah in the 32-18 loss in round two and his kicking game was poor.

He failed to find touch either side of half-time with penalty kicks for the line and a line dropout also did not go the required distance, gifting the Dragons points and field position.

After the match coach Justin Holbrook said his team did too many "dumb things" to win.

Boyd was superb at the end of last year at No.7 and started this season well in the trials and in round one

Foran, who played No.6 against the Dragons, said Boyd was not to blame for the loss and added the 22-year-old would be better in the home clash against Melbourne on Saturday.

"He is his harshest critic. He is an extremely hard worker, Tanah, and he knows where he went wrong," Foran said.

"He accepts responsibility for that but we have all got a job to do around him. He didn't find touch a couple of times but ... there was far more that went wrong during the game and we have to all take accountability.

"Tanah will be fine. He will pick himself back up and get himself ready to go this weekend and I am sure he will put in a great performance."

Foran said Boyd was confident in his own ability and would not suffer any long-term loss of confidence.

"He is a really confident young bloke and he backs his ability. He has perked back up again (at training) and he's ready to go," Foran said.

The Titans led 12-2 against the Dragons before losing momentum and control of the match in a 10-minute period before half-time where the hosts scored three tries.

Foran said the team would have to be "far more resilient" against a Storm side that would be smarting from their own bad showing against Canterbury.

The Titans will be without hooker Sam Verrills (shoulder) against the Storm.

His place will be taken by Chris Randall. Centre Brian Kelly returns from suspension and Jojo Fifita misses out with Phil Sami shifting from centre to the wing.

© AAP 2023

More than one million students across Australia are putting their reading, writing and maths skills to the test as part of NAPLAN.

Pupils in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 at almost 10,000 campuses will take part in the annual assessments designed to inform education structures from Wednesday.

It's the first time the tests are being conducted in March instead of May, with the hope results will inform teaching and learning programs for the rest of the year.

But education experts have criticised the new schedule, which sees the test taking place just over halfway into first term.

It's too early in the school year to know whether students are effectively learning concepts taught at their year levels, according to Dr Venesser Fernandes, a lecturer in educational leadership studies at Monash University.

"For students already suffering multiple learning and social disadvantages, the test timing could contribute to low self-esteem when it is likely their results will fall in the lower two levels (of assessment)," she said.

"Even though the tests are done online, the time taken for the test results to be prepared remains the same and this holds the biggest disadvantage for the student and the parent."

Dr Fernandes said NAPLAN tests would be better held at the end of the year, giving students more time to absorb knowledge.

This year, there will also be a change to how results are reported, with the 10-grade structure used in previous years simplified to four.

Given these changes, it will be important for state and territory governments to ensure results can be compared to previous years, said Queensland Liberal National Party education spokesperson Christian Rowan.

David de Carvalho, of test regulator Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, emphasised the need to keep the test in perspective and encouraged students not to feel apprehensive about it.

© AAP 2023