Military Researchers Urge Industry to Implement Rugged Quantum Sensors for Vehicle Navigation
February 6, 2025. Quantum sensors demonstrate superior performance compared to classical sensors when measuring magnetic fields, electric fields, gravity, acceleration, and rotation. In a pivotal initiative, U.S. military researchers are urging the industry to explore innovative methods for swiftly integrating rugged quantum sensors aboard military aircraft, vessels, and ground vehicles.
Officials from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), based in Arlington, Virginia, have released a solicitation (DARPA-PS-25-11) as part of the Robust Quantum Sensors (RoQS) program. The objective of RoQS is to incorporate quantum sensors into U.S. military platforms.
Military Applications of Quantum Sensors
Quantum sensors have the potential to enhance aerospace and defense functionalities, including navigation, environmental monitoring, and medical imaging, offering capabilities that vastly exceed those of traditional sensors.
Utilizing the principles of quantum mechanics, these sensors achieve remarkable sensitivity and accuracy by exploiting quantum entanglement, superposition, and tunneling to detect minute variations in physical properties such as magnetic fields and gravitational waves.
However, one of the primary challenges is that quantum sensors, although effective in laboratory conditions, experience diminished performance when mounted on moving platforms due to interference from electromagnetic fields and vibrations.
Challenges in Utilizing Quantum Sensors
When installed on mobile military platforms, various factors such as electrical and magnetic fields, field gradients, and vibrations hinder the efficacy of quantum sensors. The RoQS program aims to overcome these issues by developing inherently robust quantum sensors that withstand the adverse effects of platform-related interference, and testing these on land, air, or maritime military vehicles.
The program adopts a dual approach. Firstly, it seeks to locate prime systems integrators to aid in the integration of quantum sensors. Secondly, it will identify optimal strategies for embedding quantum sensors into select military systems.
Proposal Submission Details
Interested companies are invited to submit unclassified abstracts by February 20, 2025, and proposals by March 31, 2025, via the DARPA BAA Website at https://baa.darpa.mil. For further inquiries, contact DARPA at darpa_proposals@darpa.mil. More information can be found at this link.
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