The Albuquerque Box: An Electronic Warfare Technique Against Radar Altimeters

The Albuquerque Box is a electronic warfare (EW) technique designed to deceive radar altimeters on aircraft.

Mechanism

It transmits tailored signals that cause the altimeter to over-report the aircraft's height above ground. The pilot (or autopilot) believes the aircraft is higher than it actually is, leading to a premature descent — potentially causing a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) or a hard landing.

Context

• Named after Kirtland Air Force Base / Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where early radar/EW research occurred.
• Relevant to military aviation (penetrating defended airspace) and civil aviation safety (altimeter interference from 5G C-band, jamming).
• Modern radar altimeters incorporate anti-spoofing, but the threat persists in contested environments.

This is a specialized military/technical concept, not a geographic feature.