They would have had to have jammed every frequency. Which would have jammed everything on the ground below it as well. I think people would have noticed.
"Pentagon spokesperson Ryder pushed back on this assertion, saying the U.S. is confident the balloon is for surveillance. He said it continues to move eastward at an altitude of about 60,000 feet and has the ability to maneuver."
I'm not so sure it was allowed to transmit. I think it was being shadowed by jammers most the time.
They would have had to have jammed every frequency. Which would have jammed everything on the ground below it as well. I think people would have noticed.
No, I don't think so. That thing was more than 10 miles up. Their directional jamming is advanced enough that it's not going to disrupt ground comms.
It was nowhere near that high. It was at around 20k feet. 10 miles up would be about 52k feet.
"Pentagon spokesperson Ryder pushed back on this assertion, saying the U.S. is confident the balloon is for surveillance. He said it continues to move eastward at an altitude of about 60,000 feet and has the ability to maneuver."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/suspected-chinese-spy-balloon-found-northern-us-military-installations-rcna68879