Quantum Technology in Government and Defense
Quantum sensing is the first quantum technology to reach defense platforms. In September 2026, a Honeywell flight for the US Defense Innovation Unit navigated for 4 hours and 23 minutes without GPS, using quantum sensors. In 2025, a Q-CTRL quantum gravimeter ran for more than 144 hours unattended on a Royal Australian Navy vessel. A US executive order signed in June 2026 calls for at least three quantum sensor projects to be fielded by September 30, 2028.
Quantum computing for defense is further off, and governments now fund programs that test which machines will be useful. In October 2026, DARPA moved Atom Computing, Diraq, IBM and IonQ into the final stage of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, alongside Microsoft and PsiQuantum. Governments also have to manage quantum networks, export controls and supply chains concentrated in a few countries. In this course, we cover what quantum sensing, computing and networking can do for government and defense, how to judge vendor claims, and what to prepare now.
Course Outline
Module 1. Judging Quantum Claims (45 minutes)
Quantum computing, sensing and networking mature at different speeds, and each needs its own tests. We separate results demonstrated on hardware from company announcements and from resource estimates. We also separate the physical qubits in current machines from the logical, error-corrected qubits required for useful computation. You learn to ask which classical method a result was compared with, and which roadmap dates are commitments and which are targets. We test each question on a recent defense result, a quantum navigation trial whose headline multiplier differs between the press release and the preprint.
Module 2. Quantum Sensing for Navigation, Timing and Detection (75 minutes)
We cover the sensors closest to service: magnetometers and gravimeters for magnetic-anomaly and gravity-aided navigation, atom-interferometer inertial sensors and optical atomic clocks. For each, we review the field results, from airborne and maritime trials to a clock tested on an uncrewed submarine. We also cover what still limits deployment: size, weight, power and ruggedness. We cover Rydberg-atom radio-frequency sensors and quantum detection of submarines and buried objects. We also explain why physics limits quantum radar to ranges of tens of meters.
Module 3. Quantum Computing and Quantum Networks (45 minutes)
We cover the programs that test quantum computers against milestones. They include DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative and the US Department of Energy’s Q Competition, which pays for 100 to 200 verified logical qubits. We explain the cryptanalysis threat behind post-quantum mandates, and why materials and chemistry, not logistics, are the likely first useful applications. On networks, we cover China’s trusted-node QKD backbone of more than 10,000 km, satellite QKD and Europe’s EuroQCI. We explain why NSA and the UK’s NCSC do not support QKD for national security or military use.
Module 4. What Governments Are Doing (30 minutes)
We review named programs and what each has delivered: DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, the Defense Innovation Unit’s Transition of Quantum Sensing and Farseer programs, and NATO’s Quantum Technology Roadmap. We cover the UK’s mission to deploy quantum navigation on aircraft by 2030, and Australia’s naval and clock trials. We also cover the EU’s Quantum Europe Strategy and planned Quantum Act, and India’s National Quantum Mission. For each, you learn whether it reports a field result, a lab demonstration or an announced program.
Module 5. Preparing Now: Evaluation and Sovereignty (45 minutes)
We show you how to test vendor claims with field data: drift as a share of distance, hours in the field, and size, weight and power. Buyers can compare these figures with the targets DIU published for its Farseer program. We cover sovereignty: mapping suppliers to the second and third tier, keeping several vendors, open architectures with exit rights, and the export controls on quantum computers and their components. We also cover the post-quantum migration deadlines for government systems. In a working exercise, you draft a one-page quantum brief for your leadership.
Prerequisites
None.
Who this course is for
Senior officials, defense capability and program managers, procurement and innovation leads, and policy teams in defense ministries, armed forces, intelligence and civilian agencies. Also useful for defense industry executives, and for advisers who brief governments on quantum technology.
What you’ll be able to do afterward
- Explain what quantum sensing, computing and networking can and cannot do for government and defense today
- Judge a quantum navigation or timing claim by its field data and the baseline it was compared with
- Tell a fielded capability from a field trial, a lab demonstration or an announced program
- Explain why national agencies prefer post-quantum cryptography to quantum key distribution
- Map the sovereignty and supply-chain risks in a quantum procurement
- Plan pilots, evaluation skills and funding milestones for the next five years
What you leave with
When you finish, we email you the course handbook, a PDF of every slide with notes that explain it in full. It includes a table of the use cases covered, each labelled as demonstrated, announced or estimated, with its sources. We also include a PDF copy of Quantum Systems Integration. The handbook is yours to keep.
Enrollment includes 180 days of access to the online on-demand course. Where that course is not yet published, the 180 days start on the day it is.
Where this course fits
You can take this course on its own. No technical background is assumed. For the security side, take Quantum-Safe Government and Defense and, for US agencies and contractors, PQC Compliance: United States. Sensing teams can continue with Quantum Sensing Fundamentals. Quantum Supply Chains and Geopolitics covers export controls and supplier exposure in more depth.
Why we teach this
The material is based on Quantum Systems Integration, the reference text on quantum computing, networking, and sensing written by the course author. It also draws on faculty who work with quantum engineering and integration teams, and on the published resource estimates for each use case. We label every result in the course as demonstrated on hardware, announced by a company or estimated, so you can see how far each one has progressed.
Certificate of Completion
Upon completion, you receive a Quantum Academy certificate of completion. It confirms that you completed the course and is separate from Quantum Academy’s professional certifications.
About this program
Quantum Academy credentials are private professional credentials issued by Quantum Academy, a trade name of Post-Quantum Institute. They are not government-issued licenses, accredited degrees, or academic credit, and earning one does not guarantee employment, promotion, regulatory approval, or any other specific outcome.
Quantum Academy programs are educational and informational only, and are not legal, compliance, or engineering advice.
