This will be the eighth mission for the Boeing-built space plane, which has served as an on-orbit, experimental testbed for emerging technologies being developed by the Pentagon and NASA. The platform is designed to conduct long-duration flights before returning to Earth, where it can be repurposed for future missions. The system has already spent more than 4,200 days in space, according to Boeing.

Personnel are currently preparing the vehicle — which will fly with a service module — for another launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to a press release issued Monday. Mission partners for OTV-8, as the effort has been dubbed, include the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Silicon Valley-headquartered Defense Innovation Unit.

The service module will expand capacity for laser comms demonstrations, per the release.

Laser communications demos in low-Earth orbit “will contribute to more efficient and secure satellite communications in the future. The shorter wavelength of infrared light allows more data to be sent with each transmission,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman wrote in post on X.

“We’re also demoing the world’s highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space. Bottom line: testing this tech will be helpful for navigation in contested environments where GPS may be degraded or denied,” he added.

According to Boeing’s press release, the mission will include the first in-space demonstration of a “strategic grade” quantum inertial sensor.

“OTV 8’s quantum inertial sensor demonstration is a welcome step forward for the operational resilience of Guardians in space,” Space Delta 9 Commander Col. Ramsey Hom said in a statement. “Whether navigating beyond Earth-based orbits in cis-lunar space or operating in GPS-denied environments, quantum inertial sensing allows for robust navigation capabilities where GPS navigation is not possible. Ultimately, this technology contributes significantly to our thrust within the Fifth Space Operations Squadron and across the Space Force guaranteeing movement and maneuverability even in GPS-denied environments.”

The launch date is targeted for Aug. 21, according to Saltzman.

During the space plane’s most recent mission, which started in 2023 and wrapped up earlier this year, efforts included experimenting with operating in new orbital regimes, testing space domain awareness technologies and investigating radiation effects, according to officials.

For the mission before that, the X-37B spent a whopping 908 days in orbit.

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The document, dated June 17 and signed by acting CTO Justin Fanelli, noted the need to “accelerate the adoption of game changing commercial technology.”

The list of priorities “can help shape resource allocation decisions across the enterprise,” he wrote, adding that it should serve as a “signaling tool” to industry partners and private capital to inform how they allocate their resources and focus their efforts.

Artificial intelligence and autonomy top the list of “Level 1” technologies in the hierarchy.

“AI and autonomy play a vital role in information warfare by enabling decision advantage and enhancing the ability of human-machine teaming. The DON seeks AI-driven solutions for real-time data analysis and automated decision-making to enhance operational effectiveness,” Fanelli wrote.

Level 2 technologies under this category include capabilities like applied machine learning and natural language processing; model verification and AI risk governance; mission platforms and human-machine interfaces; and edge AI infrastructure and DevSecOps pipelines.

Next on the list is quantum tech, which Fanelli said will transform secure communications, computing and sensing for information warfare. He noted that quantum encryption could protect the department’s networks from adversaries, and quantum computing would boost data processing and cryptographic resilience.

Level 2 technologies in this area include tools such as post-quantum cryptography and quantum-enhanced communication; hybrid quantum-classical architectures; quantum gravimetry and inertial navigation; and “quantum interconnects and cryogenic systems.”

“Transport and connectivity” are third on the list. According to Fanelli’s memo, the Navy is prioritizing advanced networking, secure communications, 5G and FutureG tech to enable real-time data sharing and command and control.

Level 2 technologies under this category include things like 5G and FutureG nodes and mesh architectures; dynamic spectrum sharing and anti-jamming techniques; datalinks and “ship-to-X” mesh networks; and cloudlets and intelligent routing.

Fourth on the list is command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — also known as C5ISR — as well as counter-C5ISR and space capabilities.

“The DON seeks to integrate advanced sensor networks, improve automated data fusion, and develop resilient space-based architectures to support real-time intelligence gathering,” Fanelli wrote.

Level 2 technologies in this area include capabilities such as multi-INT engines and automated targeting; operational pictures and targeting algorithms; hybrid constellations and positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) from space; and open architectures and multi-coalition information sharing.

Fifth on the list is tech related to cyberspace operations and zero trust.

“Cyber threats are evolving rapidly, making Zero Trust Architecture essential for securing DON information networks. Priorities include advanced cyber defense frameworks, threat intelligence automation, and proactive security measures to counter adversarial cyber operations,” per the memo.

Level 2 capabilities under this category include things like identity and access management — such as attribute-based access control and federated identity systems — micro segmentation and risk-adaptive controls for zero trust, cyber threat hunting and deception, and operational technology (OT) security — such as industrial control system and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) protection and remote access.

The complete list of tech priorities for Levels 1, 2 and 3 can be found here.

“A lot of these areas are mainly being driven by commercial tech,” Deputy CTO Michael Frank said in an interview. “It’s going to be a mix of … traditional defense vendors, traditional primes. But you know, we are really focused on getting some new entrants in, right? So, expanding the defense industrial base, getting some new players on the field. And this is a signal to them. This memo is meant to be a signal to them and what we’re focused on, what our priorities areas are, so they can better make decisions … If you’re an entrepreneur in this area or if you’re a VC who’s looking to invest, you know these are the general areas that we’re looking at.”

The Navy is looking to cast a wide net for new capabilities.

“We’re going to be looking at emerging tech from anybody and everyone who is operating in these areas and developing things in these areas, to include the other players in the defense innovation ecosystem. So, you know, looking at what DIU is doing, partnering with In-Q-Tel and what they are doing, because we want to make sure that we have awareness of all the various efforts across government to reduce waste, to reduce redundant spend, reduce redundant efforts, given the fact that we are operating in a resource-constrained environment, both with money and with people and time and effort and all of that,” Frank said.

The CTO’s office is aiming to accelerate the transition of key capabilities to the Navy and Marine Corps.

“We are absolutely more interested in higher [technology readiness levels],” Frank said. “We are more focused on things that we can start testing, validating and transitioning to the warfighter now.”

The list of priority technology areas is meant to be updated over time, he noted.

“This is a living list, it’s an evolving list. You know these technology areas are not going to be static. I mean, Level 1 will probably not change for a while, but the Level 2 and Level 3 … will and should be regularly updated in order for it to be useful to industry partners,” Frank said.

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In that position, Michael will serve as the primary advisor to the secretary of defense and other Defense Department leaders on tech development and transition, prototyping, experimentation, and management of testing ranges and activities. He’ll also be in charge of synchronizing science and technology efforts across the DOD.

Michael comes to the job from the private sector, where he’s been a business executive, advisor and investor. He told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that he’s been involved with more than 50 different tech companies during his career. Perhaps most notable, from 2013 to 2017, he was chief business officer at Uber.

In government, he previously served as special assistant to the secretary of defense when Robert Gates was Pentagon chief.

Michael was born in Egypt and his family moved to the United States when he was a child to escape what he described as hostility to Christians.

“Emil has lived the American Dream by building several successful Tech companies, including Uber,” then President-elect Donald Trump said in a statement in December when he announced his pick for Pentagon R&E chief, adding that Michael will “ensure that our Military has the most technologically sophisticated weapons in the World, while saving A LOT of money for our Taxpayers.”

Michael touted his business background during his confirmation hearing in March and in responses to written questions from senators. He noted that he previously served on the Defense Business Board, which provides independent advice to Pentagon leaders on business management issues.

“I am a firm believer that bringing best practices from the private sector into the Department is a top priority because, if adopted effectively, they will streamline operation and allocate resources more appropriately,” Michael told lawmakers.

He suggested that some research and development programs could end up on the chopping block under his watch, saying Pentagon officials need to have the discipline to “stop projects that are failing” and focus S&T investments on “only those things that are aligned on our ‘peace through strength’ mission.”

“Time must be a factor in all of our decisions as we confront an increasingly sophisticated adversary in China, which not only has lower labor costs, but is notorious for intellectual property theft, making its research and development … even faster and less expensive than we could have imagined only a decade ago,” he said.

Michael also told senators that he would work to “recast” the relationship between the Defense Department and the emerging tech sector.

“The DOD needs to foster a more robust and competitive defense industrial base by providing more realistic requirements, inviting smaller and innovative companies with less burdensome processes, becoming more agile in how and when we grant contracts. The private sector too should bear some more responsibility for the risks of their own failure. A healthy ecosystem will provide for weapons that are better, cheaper and faster,” he said at his confirmation hearing.

He suggested venture capitalists could play an even larger role in supporting the defense industrial base, particularly for small businesses that need additional funding to thrive in that marketplace. For example, he told lawmakers that, if confirmed, he would look for opportunities under Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs for small businesses to leverage VC investment.

The Pentagon’s R&E chief plays a key role in fostering next-generation military capabilities and overseeing work on the “critical technology areas” that the Pentagon has identified. Those areas currently include trusted AI and autonomy; space; integrated sensing and cyber; integrated network systems of systems; microelectronics; human-machine interfaces; advanced materials; directed energy; advanced computing and software; hypersonics; biotech; quantum; FutureG wireless tech; and “energy resilience.”

“If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the work being done in all 14 Critical Technology Areas and ensuring the Department’s resources are focused on our most critical challenges with the right amount of weight behind each area,” Michael told lawmakers.

He highlighted AI, autonomous systems, quantum computing, directed energy and hypersonics as some of his top priorities, if confirmed.

The R&E directorate is also expected to play a major role in Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative.

Michael noted that Golden Dome will require systems engineers across the DOD to collaborate on architecture and software, in partnership with the development and acquisition communities.

After he’s sworn in, Michael will take over for James Mazol, who has been performing the duties of undersecretary for R&E during the early months of the second Trump administration. Heidi Shyu was the last person to hold the role in a Senate-confirmed capacity during the Biden administration.

Updated on May 15, 2025, at 4:15 PM: A previous version of this story stated that “renewable energy generation and storage” was one of DOD’s 14 “critical technology areas.” While that was the case during the Biden administration, the Trump administration has changed the focus to “energy resilience.” This story has been updated to reflect that change.

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“The purpose of the hearing is to evaluate the state of U.S. quantum research, development and technology and the current position of the U.S. quantum industry,” Executive Director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), Dr. Celia Merzbacher, told DefenseScoop on Tuesday.

Merzbacher was tapped to serve as a witness at the upcoming hearing, alongside senior officials representing Microsoft, PsiQuantum and Google.

Quantum information science (QIS) and other related technologies apply complex phenomena happening at atomic and subatomic levels to store, transmit, manipulate, process and measure data and information. They’re largely anticipated to spark revolutionary advancements in the coming decades, like encryption-breaking algorithms and unhackable communication networks. 

This latest hearing comes as Congress members are exploring plans to reauthorize the National Quantum Initiative Act, which President Donald Trump signed in late 2018 during his first presidential term. The legislation sought to accelerate quantum-enabling research and development across the U.S., partly by directing the government to spend more than $1.2 billion to advance technology-driving initiatives over the following five years.

“The committee is reviewing the NQI Act to date, the importance of quantum to the economy and national security, and what policies should be considered as the committee considers reauthorization of the act,” Merzbacher said.

QED-C is a National Institute of Standards and Technology-backed group of cross-sector companies and stakeholders that work to strategically address quantum-related technology, standards and workforce gaps. The consortium was codified in the NQI legislation and Merzbacher has helped steer it since the early days.

“Congress should reauthorize the NQI to keep up the pace of discovery and development. Now more than ever, QED-C can help connect and support the quantum ecosystem to accelerate progress,” she said.

In her view, the law “built a strong foundation of multidisciplinary research that is advancing science and training” of quantum personnel, and those programs need to be sustained. Further, she noted, “enormous strides” were made in the private sector with support from the NQI.

Building on that progress, Merzbacher said the United States’ federally-funded quantum research enterprise should be more deeply connected to and engaged with industry. She aims to articulate those and other recommendations to lawmakers at the hearing, including that NQI “should enhance infrastructure for fabrication, characterization and testing of prototypes.”

Her testimony will also reference a range of what she sees as “hallmarks of a growing Chinese quantum industry” that could put America and its allies at risk. She’ll point to an analysis of highly-cited research publications, which argues that while the U.S. leads the world in quantum computing, China is ahead in quantum communication, quantum sensors, post-quantum cryptography and other areas that are vital to the quantum supply chain. 

“Reliance on Chinese suppliers for critical quantum components poses risks that supply could be restricted or shut down altogether. This would pose threats to the U.S.’ ability to acquire quantum technology for both government and commercial applications,” Merzbacher said.

Offering several examples, she noted that many quantum systems require lasers that operate at specialized wavelengths — and China has become a dominant supplier of many optical and photonics components, including advanced lasers. 

“Competition remains fierce. The investments in China are hard to verify, but the outputs in terms of publications and patents continue to grow rapidly. And competition extends beyond the U.S. and China, to include countries around the world. The race to be ‘first to market’ is on,” Merzbacher told DefenseScoop.

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In the process, the team is generating cutting-edge devices that can no longer be modeled with classical computing architectures. And the company recognizes the U.S. government’s need for quantum-safe security measures.

“The next [four to five years are] probably going to be the most exciting time in quantum computing. You’ve gone from it being a scientific exploration into the hardware, to how do we actually start using these quantum computers to do real things and scale them up,” said Jay Gambetta, IBM’s vice president for quantum. 

A leading quantum computing expert with more than two decades of professional experience, Gambetta joined IBM in 2011 — about seven years after he moved to the U.S. from Australia. 

“I was the first to pull [an IBM-built] quantum computer onto the cloud” back in 2016, he said.

Gambetta recently hosted a small group of journalists at the company’s Washington, D.C., office for a roundtable to discuss some of IBM’s recent quantum computing advancements, and his team’s roadmap and vision for what’s to come.

“At a high level, the U.S. has as always been a leader in quantum computing, and as we go into this new, next phase, we have to remain a leader in both continuing to build the best quantum computers and also being the first to use them for useful applications,” he said.

Quantum computing is considered an alternative computational paradigm and, broadly, applies certain laws of physics to digital information processing. It’s part of the emerging and disruptive technology field of quantum information science (QIS) that uses complex phenomena happening at atomic and subatomic levels to store, transmit, manipulate, process and measure information.

The Defense Department and other federal agencies have been increasingly prioritizing quantum-enabling activities and investments as proponents largely predict it will lead to revolutionary breakthroughs — like an unhackable internet — in the not-so-distant future.

IBM is in a small cadre of major U.S. businesses, including Google and Microsoft, vying to be the first to generate a quantum system that can outperform all the classical computers that came before.

“The whole purpose of quantum computing, and the whole thesis of it, is that there are algorithms that exist that no classical computer can ever simulate. Most famous of it is Shor’s algorithm, but more practical in terms of commercial applications is simulating chemistry, simulating materials, simulating biology, simulating finance, doing some risk calculation, some optimization. They are the reason we’re all doing it,” he explained.

On the heels of recent innovations, IBM aims to start experimenting with using a quantum computer as a scientific tool to discover new algorithms. 

Gambetta noted that the field of AI optimization is based on heuristic algorithms, or those that use approximate solutions to puzzle out answers to complex problems.

“We, as a society, have benefited from algorithm discovery, and we continue to benefit from it. Now we have something that we’ve got to add to it. And I expect that in the next year or two, we will see legitimate demonstrations of quantum advantage or supremacy. I prefer the word ‘advantage,’ but you call it whatever you want. [But it means] where we’ll actually see a quantum computer do something cheaper, faster, or more cost-effective than the classical computer alignment,” he said. 

There’s been rising hype over the last decade around possibilities for the future of quantum. Gambetta acknowledged that, as well as critics’ responses, but said he’s confident IBM is on the cusp of some next-level breakthroughs.

“In some sense, to me, we’re in this most exciting time. We’re now getting devices that you can no longer simulate with classical computing,” he said.

Early government focus and investments from defense and intelligence research labs zoned in on proving the existence of quantum bits, or qubits, the basic unit of information used to encode data in quantum computing. 

The congressionally mandated National Quantum Initiative (NQI) enacted in 2018 accelerated U.S. progress when momentum was already swiftly building, Gambetta noted. And alongside new innovations in cloud access, it meant the government’s focus shifted from fundamental research science to puzzling out and pursuing more practical applications. 

“Now we have 100-qubit machines that are beyond what we can simulate. So, you can build whatever classical computer you want but you can’t simulate it to do the pen-and-paper algorithms that we all want to do for quantum computing,” he explained.

Leading experts are also now more serious than ever about ensuring the in-the-works advanced quantum systems are being built in a way that they can be quickly and safely linked up and scaled as soon as they’re fully realized.

“Quantum communication, quantum computing, quantum sensing — they were all kind of almost distinctly different [in the past]. But the future is going to actually be quantum computers connected to quantum sensors connected with quantum communication,” Gambetta said.

Responding to DefenseScoop’s questions at the roundtable, the quantum chief discussed some of the high-priority challenges that anticipated quantum innovations pose for the DOD and U.S. military. 

“One of the algorithms that quantum computers will break is RSA, which [underpins] a lot of our security,” Gambetta explained, referring to the widely used Rivest–Shamir–Adleman public-key cryptosystem for securing data transmissions.

“The quantum computers we’ve built today don’t break [it] because they’ve got to be bigger to do that. But we know, given our commercial roadmap, that will happen,” he said. “That’s why quantum computers obviously drive a lot of national security concerns.”

Led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, government agencies are working to transition to more protected security architectures and uncover new quantum-safe algorithms that won’t be broken by the future supercomputers.

Quantum computing further holds promise to expand DOD’s ability to solve complex logistics problems. 

Gambetta noted the technology also “changes the equation for simulating materials,” which the Pentagon spends heaps of high-performance computing resources on.

“We know this future [of IBM-run fault-tolerant quantum computers] is coming. I think how the commercialization of this gets done is a complicated question, and it’s why we’re talking so much with the people in the government,” he said.

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As our world becomes increasingly powered by generative AI, the most sought-after resource is no longer oil or gold — it’s data. Staying ahead in the AI race requires constant troves of new data to create better generative AI models.

However, we cannot treat AI as just another consumer good designed to make life or work easier, where we simply choose the cheapest or most convenient assistant. The AI technologies we use shape the knowledge we absorb, influence our beliefs, and could become geopolitical tools for misinformation — a national security concern that cannot be overlooked.

For example, the recent high-performing chatbot developed by Chinese company DeepSeek does not provide information about Tiananmen Square and purveys common Chinese Communist Party propaganda about Taiwan and other topics. And yet, days after DeepSeek launched, it became the most popularly downloaded free application in the U.S.

In response, U.S. legislators proposed a bipartisan bill to ban DeepSeek from government devices. The aim is to prevent users from sending heaps of information to DeepSeek and to Chinese state-owned entities. By interacting with DeepSeek over the internet, we are surrendering the single most important resource in maintaining leadership in AI: data.

However, there are three big problems with the data required to train generative AI. First, the world is running out of the high-quality, real-world data required to train models, with Epoch AI predicting we may run out by 2028.

The second problem is that real-world data is inherently flawed and biased because it’s simply a collection of society’s beliefs and actions. Therefore, AI is liable to perpetuate existing political, racist, sexist, and other biases. The current administration has underscored the importance of developing “AI systems that are free from ideological bias or engineered social agendas.”

Third, real-world data is often incomplete. Within the Department of Defense (DOD), intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems can face collection gaps, resulting in incomplete data sets (e.g. incomplete satellite image data). In addition, computer security needs — such as identifying network intrusions or malware — may be weakened by incomplete data sets.

The solution to these problems is synthetic data. Synthetic data can augment real-world data by filling in critical gaps, help provide the volume of data needed to train AI and mitigate intrinsic biases. Synthetic data is designed to resemble real-world data and is artificially engineered by computers using algorithms, simulations, or machine learning models. Gartner predicts that more than half of the data used to train AI will be synthetic by 2030.

The benefits of synthetic data generated by today’s “classical” computers are that it’s widely available, affordable, and ideal for small to mid-scale problems with well-structured data. The drawbacks are that classical synthetic data can be less complex and diverse than real-world data, can struggle to capture the high-dimensional patterns needed for training AI, and may face future challenges in scaling quickly to meet growing data demands.

Quantum computing is the solution to these challenges. Quantum computers will generate higher volumes of data and higher quality data than classical synthetic data.

“The future of generative AI training lies in combining real-world data with both classical and quantum synthetic data,” says Dr. Graham Enos, vice president of quantum solutions at Strangeworks and a former DOD mathematician. “As quantum computing advances, quantum synthetic data will increasingly dominate the synthetic data used to train AI. What’s exciting is that synthetic data generation is one of the most immediate and practical applications of quantum computers.”

The seemingly otherworldly properties of quantum computers make them ideal for the machine learning and simulation tasks that generate synthetic data. Unlike classical computers, which rely on bits that are either 0 or 1, quantum computers use qubits that can exist in a superposition of both states simultaneously, providing exponentially greater computing power. Entanglement is another critical property of quantum computing that allows qubits to represent more complex data distributions, enabling more complicated calculations than classical computers. By leveraging both superposition and entanglement, quantum computers can double their compute power simply by adding one qubit — in contrast, classical systems require doubling the number of transistors to double compute power.

Five years ago, the largest quantum computer was Google’s 53-qubit Sycamore chip that demonstrated “beyond classical” performance on a computational benchmark. The largest machines built today, from IBM and Atom Computing, boast upwards of 1,000 qubits. While quantum computers are not yet outperforming classical computers for practical applications, including generating meaningful quantum synthetic data for commercial AI training, they are quickly approaching that moment.

Recently, quantum computing company Quantinuum, a spinoff from Honeywell, announced that data from its H2 quantum computer can train AI systems using its Generative Quantum AI framework.

In the announcement, Dr. Thomas Ehmer from the healthcare business sector of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt is quoted as saying, “While some may suggest that a standalone quantum computer is still years away, the commercial opportunities from this breakthrough are here and now…the [Quantinuum] Helios system, launching later this year will hopefully enable AI to be used in unprecedented ways and unlocking transformative potential across industries.”

Similarly, in work partially funded by the U.S. government, Rigetti (RGTI) used a quantum neural network to generate synthetic data and fill gaps in global weather radar coverage, matching the performance of a classical baseline model. (These quantum machine learning methods from Rigetti are available on Strangeworks.)

This type of work is directly applicable to enhancing C4ISR capabilities by leveraging advanced computer vision techniques to analyze complex sensor data. For example, programs like Project Maven use synthetic data to train AI models that interpret full-motion video (FMV), synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, and other intelligence sources.

The impacts of quantum computing go beyond improving AI models. Additional defense-related applications include cybersecurity threat detection, adversarial intent prediction, cryptanalysis, electromagnetic spectrum operations, and many more.

Yet, China is outspending the U.S. four to one in federal quantum technology investment and is steadily closing the technology gap. If the U.S. wants to continue to lead the quantum computing race and be the first to fully leverage the power of quantum synthetic data, we must bolster public and private investment in quantum technologies.

First, due to the time and effort needed to develop quantum workflows, government and private organizations should start working with experts today to identify use cases and build the hybrid infrastructure needed for rapid adoption of quantum data.

Second, the U.S. must reauthorize the National Quantum Initiative (NQI) Act, which accounts for about half of federal investment in quantum technologies. The initial NQI Act, which expired in 2023, was signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2018 and resulted in meaningful progress.

Lastly, Congress should increase funding to both DOD and the Department of Energy by passing the newly introduced bipartisan DOE Quantum Leadership Act as well as the Defense Quantum Acceleration Act. The latter was introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik and Sen. Marsha Blackburn in April, and the legislation is intended to “supercharge the Department of Defense’s approach to quantum technology and advance U.S. national security.”

Without a recommitment to federal investment in quantum technologies, the U.S. risks another DeepSeek moment with both quantum and AI.

The post The international AI race needs quantum computing appeared first on DefenseScoop.

Pentagon officials see quantum sensors as promising capabilities for alternative positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).

However, there are challenges involved in deploying the technology that DARPA aims to tackle with a new program that it’s looking to kick off, dubbed Robust Quantum Sensors (RoQS).

The initiative “seeks to bring quantum sensors to DoD platforms. While quantum sensors have demonstrated exceptional laboratory performance in a number of modalities (magnetic and electrical field, acceleration, rotation, and gravity, etc.), their performance degrades once the sensor is placed on moving platforms due to electrical and magnetic fields, field gradients, and system vibrations. RoQS seeks to overcome these challenges through innovative physics approaches to quantum sensing. The forthcoming RoQS program aims to develop and demonstrate quantum sensors that inherently resist performance degradation from platform interferers and demonstrate them on a government-provided platform,” officials wrote in a special notice and future program announcement recently posted on Sam.gov.

DARPA, which reports to the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, hopes to transition RoQS-developed sensors onto U.S. military platforms with associated programs of record to help fulfill requirements. To that end, the agency intends to work with contractors and platform builders to identify systems for quantum sensor integration and also government platform owners to facilitate integration and testing at the end of the program, per the notice.

Pentagon officials and others have been working to mature quantum technology for real-world applications.

Quantum tech “translates the principles of quantum physics into technological applications,” a recently updated Congressional Research Service report explained, including concepts like superposition — or the ability of quantum systems to exist in two or more states simultaneously — and entanglement where “two or more quantum objects in a system can be intrinsically linked such that measurement of one dictates the possible measurement outcomes for another, regardless of how far apart the two objects are.”

Although DOD officials see potential uses for quantum-enabled capabilities in other areas like computing, encryption and communications, sensing is considered by many observers to be the most mature application for near-term use by the Pentagon.

That’s the one “that we know by far the most about,” John Burke, principal director for quantum science in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, said in June at a tech summit hosted by Defense One.

Such capabilities could provide an alternative to the Global Positioning System in case GPS is denied or degraded in future operating environments.

“You’ve probably heard about jamming and spoofing concerns, for example. So we’re busily working on other quantum technologies to input positioning and timing at the edge of the warfighter so that they don’t rely on GPS all the time,” Burke said. “So that’s sort of the earliest thing we’re working on. There’s a whole slew of technologies under that umbrella. We’re really pushing out on that. So even this year [in] 2024, we’ve got about $100 million coming out to work just on that area. So we’re really pushing hard on that.”

The Pentagon has been using its Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program to buy a new generation of atomic clocks that could be put into some “strategic assets,” he said, adding that “the first new wave of quantum technologies is really going out today.”

The CRS report noted that successful development and deployment of quantum sensors could boost detection of things like adversary submarines, underground structures, nuclear materials and electromagnetic emissions — and thereby help the U.S. military find concealed objects of interest and enemy forces.

For ISR there’s “an umbrella of remote sensing capabilities and a lot of different kinds of technologies in there. Things like magnetometers to find magnetic objects. You can imagine a lot of things that the military might care about … may have iron in them or steel, things that are magnetic. So we’re tracking trying to figure how to use those in all kinds of different ways,” Burke said.

Currently, quantum technologies are “a little bit expensive,” he noted.

“But that’s okay for certain strategic missions in the military. So we’re starting from those kinds of missions that go with anything — submarines, strategic bombers, long-range sort of missiles … these kinds of assets, to start inserting new technologies,” he said. “We have these things called magnetometers you can put in systems for like this thing called magnetic navigation. It’s extremely robust. We’re really excited about that. There’s navigation technologies. Once we get those established, we can start building up the manufacturing base, first in the Defense Department. That’s the path that we’ve taken. But I think in the long run, you’re gonna see these kinds of technologies proliferate into civilian” sectors.

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Among all of the cybersecurity modernization efforts underway at the Defense Department, cryptography has recently moved to the top of Deputy CIO for Cybersecurity David McKeown’s list of priorities. Speaking at AFCEA DC’s annual Tech Summit on Thursday, McKeown said the effort will likely be a big lift for the department given its timeline and scale.

“The hardware and software that we use for securing our nation’s secrets takes a long time to develop and test and field. It is scattered throughout many, many platforms and weapon systems,” he said. “We’ve got to think ahead as to what the adversary might be working on and develop algorithms that are there in time to meet the adversary’s ability to crack those algorithms.”

Cryptography is the process of developing and using coded algorithms to protect data so that only those with specific permissions are able to decrypt and read it. Cryptographic algorithms protect the Defense Department’s critical information from being hacked by adversaries like China, which has been looking to develop a quantum computer able to break military-grade encryptions.

The Defense Department currently uses decades-old cryptographic algorithms to secure both its non-classified and secret classification networks. The National Security Agency is the lead for the Pentagon’s cryptographic modernization efforts, and the department heavily relies on algorithms developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 

In August, NIST released the final versions of three new post-quantum encryption algorithms and plans to release additional algorithms in the future. The organization is looking to migrate all high-priority systems to quantum-resistant cryptography by 2035 — a deadline that could be challenging for organizations as large as the Defense Department.

Once a new cryptographic algorithm is developed — a process that takes around a decade — the NSA conducts testing to certify both the hardware and software components, McKeown said. Then, the Pentagon will need to conduct operational tests and validation with each of the military services and components, he noted.

“Even then, [there is] the scope and scale of replacing this crypto — we’re talking hundreds of thousands of endpoints, perhaps millions in some cases — that have to be touched, and the algorithms updated and replaced,” McKeown said. “In some cases, we may have to use the old algorithms, un-encrypt data and then re-encrypt it with the new stuff that we just came out with. So you can see, it’s an extremely long timeline.”

McKeown emphasized that even when the Pentagon fields new cryptographic algorithms, it will have to continuously work to ensure both the hardware and software components are up-to-date.

In addition, the department’s CIO has been trying to find innovative and efficient ways to do encryption — such as by using double-wrapping encryption techniques to add extra layers of security, McKeown said. There is also a lot of work yet to be done on enumerating the Pentagon’s algorithms that are vulnerable to quantum hacking so that they can be fixed, he noted.

“We need to look through our whole inventory and look at all the encryption that we’re using on everything, and then figure out what needs to be replaced there and then get to work with the vendors and our community to get the upgrades, and then field the upgrades so that new quantum-resistant cryptography is employed throughout the department,” McKeown said.

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Quantum computing and information science marks a still-emerging and likely disruptive field that applies the laws of physics and complicated phenomena happening at atomic and subatomic levels to store, measure and move information. 

Backed by Congress, U.S. national security agencies have been increasingly prioritizing quantum-enabling activities and funding in recent years to prepare for associated technological transformation that might be on the horizon.

Mace, R-S.C., is introducing an amendment to the Defense Department’s appropriations bill for fiscal 2025 to increase funding by $20 million to the Army research, development, test and evaluation account to enable a new DOD Quantum Computing Center of Excellence.

That investment would be “offset by a decrease to Defense-Wide Operations and Maintenance,” an official from her office confirmed.

In May, DefenseScoop reported that the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems (CITI) submitted a provision in the fiscal 2025 Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for a one-stop, military-focused quantum Center of Excellence.

Such hubs, also referred to as COEs, are typically embedded within federal agencies to foster and coordinate innovation or modernization around a specific, often technology-related, topic of interest. 

CITI’s original proposal — calling for a center to be established at a “research laboratory of a covered Armed Force with requisite experience in quantum computing integrated photonics and photon qubits, superconducting and hybrid systems, and trapped ions” — made it into the House’s recently passed version of the NDAA for fiscal 2025.

The Senate has not yet passed its version of the NDAA, which will need to be reconciled with the House version before becoming law.

While Mace’s new amendment to the separate appropriations bill for the same fiscal year could drive further momentum for the creation of a new quantum COE, it would also explicitly involve the Army in the envisioned effort.

“By increasing funding for the Army RDT&E account to create a Department of Defense Quantum Computing Center of Excellence, we are committing to a future where America leads in quantum innovation. This strategic investment will give our military a decisive technological advantage, fortifying our national security against emerging global threats and keeping us ahead in the race against adversaries like China,” the official on her team told DefenseScoop.

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Quantum computing is part of the emerging and potentially disruptive technology field of quantum information science, or QIS, which broadly applies the laws of physics and complex phenomena happening at atomic and subatomic levels to store, transmit, manipulate, compute or measure information.

Experts largely expect QIS to unleash transformational science, engineering and communication applications (like an unhackable internet) in the near future, once fault-tolerant quantum computers are fully realized. With that in mind, DOD and other federal agencies have been increasingly prioritizing quantum-enabling activities and investments.

In a move to help the Pentagon strategically scale the technology and build on current momentum, lawmakers on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems (CITI) are pushing for the creation of a new one-stop, military-focused quantum hub.

“The Secretary of Defense shall establish a Quantum Computing Center of Excellence … at a research laboratory of a covered Armed Force with requisite experience in quantum computing, integrated photonics and photon qubits, superconducting and hybrid systems, and trapped ions,” they wrote in their mark for the fiscal 2025 Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act.

Centers of Excellence (COE) are generally embedded within federal agencies to foster innovation or modernization in a coordinated way around a specific topic of interest. 

If this provision is passed, the quantum COE would be set to exist for 10 years post-enactment.

Text of the legislation lays out what the lawmakers would like to see be the primary responsibilities for the center. They include:

• Accelerate the transition of advanced quantum and quantum hybrid computing technology from the research-and-development phase into operational use. 
• Facilitate quantum computing workforce development.  
• Conduct outreach to enhance government, industry and academia’s understanding of national security-related use cases for quantum computing and quantum hybrid technology and operational challenges faced by DOD that may be addressed using such technology. 
• Prototype quantum computing and quantum hybrid applications.
• Undertake efforts to advance the technology readiness levels of quantum computing. 
• Carry out such other activities relating to quantum computing as the secretary of defense determines appropriate. 

The research lab selected to launch the center would be able to partner with other stakeholders at the Defense Innovation Unit, other government labs, federally funded R&D centers, university affiliated research centers and the private sector.   

“Subject to availability of appropriations, the Secretary of Defense may make grants and enter into contracts or other agreements, on a competitive basis, to support the activities of the Center,” according to the legislative proposal.

The mark also includes a separate section that would require DOD to “develop a strategic plan to guide the research, development, test, and evaluation, procurement, and implementation of” QIS within the department and military services over the period of five years following its enactment.

In a conversation with DefenseScoop on Thursday, Paul Stimers — an attorney and member of Holland & Knight’s Public Policy and Regulation Group who also leads a coalition of quantum companies seeking to advance U.S. leadership in that space — noted that the NDAA provision is “consistent with the thrust” of the recently introduced, bipartisan Defense Quantum Acceleration Act. 

“In general, the coalition supports efforts to develop an overarching strategy for DOD quantum R&D, and the creation of an organization within DOD with the authority and capacity to execute such a strategy,” Stimers told DefenseScoop.

The House Armed Services Committee is expected to meet May 22 to mark up the NDAA.

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