The advent of quantum computing and sensors will change things “dramatically” for the Department of Defense (DoD) and “very soon,” said a top DoD tech official this week as he shared details about a new project focused on near-term quantum applications and provided updates on the Pentagon’s quantum priorities.
John Burke, the undersecretary of Defense for research and engineering (OUSD (R&E)) for science and technology (S&T), talked about the Defense Applications of Quantum-computers toward Architectures and Requirements (DAQAR) program during remarks at the 2024 Quantum World Congress event on Sept. 10.
The program, which aims to test quantum computing heuristics, is related to a provision in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – which includes several directives pushing the Pentagon to adopt quantum computing for emerging national security missions.
Currently, Burke said, DoD is trying to get the program “off the ground,” adding that the program is “with the armed services and developing workforce and really going after near-term applications.”
Burke also said that that a space-qualified commercial navigation system developed by the DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is ready to be deployed into space.
“It’s fully qualified now, waiting for us right into space – that’s going to be a big deal,” said Burke. “It’s been one of the first really new quantum technologies, other than clocks, that have really gone into space and been shown to work well. So, we’re really excited about that.”
Other initiatives that Burke said everyone will see “a lot more” about going forward include magnetic navigation, which he said signals an “important step forward for atomic magnetometers and other kinds of magnetometers.”
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) – which aims to verify if a quantum computer can achieve utility-scale operation by 2033 – will be “really hitting the stage now into next year,” said Burke. He added he believes the future is “bright” for the DoD’s funding to go “even higher with all these new initiatives.”
Additional top priorities for the DoD include computing technology protection, inertial sensors – which allow strategic assets to navigate without GPS for “mission relevant timescales,” according to the DoD – and remote and quantum sensors, which would respectively enable novel threat detection and make new light sources for imaging devices.
“[Quantum is] an enabler for another enabler,” said Burke. “We have to build a whole story around not just a quantum but in supply chain and the workforce going backwards, but all the way to the end use. And all those links in the chain are important to really make sure that we’re successful. And that’s a lot of the work we’re doing right now – is trying to complete those arcs of end use.”
Looking forward, progress won’t be “uniform” across quantum priorities, Burke said, noting that there are numerous challenges to address.
“There’s a lot of manufacturing challenges left out there, we have photonics and superconductors and low temperature electronics, refrigeration vacuum technology,” said Burke. “Then on the computer side, we have lots of systems analysis to do.”
