US says Chinese spy balloon downed in February did not collect information

Craft was shot down by US military off Atlantic coast on president's orders earlier this year

The Chinese spy balloon shot down by a US fighter jet over the Atlantic in February did not collect intelligence as it flew across the United States, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

It's been our assessment now that it did not collect intelligence while it was transiting the United States or overflying the United States," said a Pentagon spokesman, Pat Ryder.