Chinese spy balloon did not collect information, says Pentagon

The Chinese balloon that crossed the continental US from Alaska to the eastbound seashore successful February did not cod immoderate information, the Pentagon says.

The US "took steps to mitigate" what quality the suspected spy balloon could collect, officials said connected Thursday.

Debris collected from the balloon aft it was changeable down is being analysed by US quality agencies.

The incidental caused a strain betwixt the US and China.

Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said connected Thursday that the US was "aware that [the balloon] had quality postulation capabilities".

But "it has been our appraisal present that it did not cod portion it was transiting the United States oregon implicit flying the United States".

He said the efforts the US took to mitigate immoderate quality gathering "contributed" to the balloon's nonaccomplishment to stitchery delicate information.

Gen Ryder did not corroborate a Wall Street Journal study that American-made instrumentality was portion of the balloon, but helium said that Chinese drones successful the past person utilized off-the-shelf US equipment.

The balloon spent a week successful February flying implicit the United States and Canada earlier it was changeable down by a combatant pitchy disconnected the Atlantic coast, connected orders from President Joe Biden.

The sensors from the suspected Chinese spy balloon were aboriginal retrieved from the ocean.

There was interest that Beijing was utilizing the balloon to stitchery accusation arsenic it passed implicit US subject bases.

Chinese officials accidental it was a civilian upwind balloon and that the US overreacted by shooting it down.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a diplomatic travel to Beijing implicit the incident. That travel was rescheduled and took spot earlier this month.