Quantum sensing technologies can reach levels of accuracy and performance beyond the limitations of classical sensing. Their market availability could revolutionize the defence capabilities, by leading to paradigmatic shifts in the design of future systems. The project QUANDO "Quantum Technologies for Defence with Application to Optronics" focuses on the investigation of Quantum Sensing Technologies (QSTs) in Defence applications for Detection, Recognition, Identification, and Tracking (DRIT) of difficult targets. The project aims at (i) investigating QSTs for Optronics, in order to improve the DRIT of difficult optical targets, (ii) exploring potential applications of quantum technologies to Radio Frequency sensor systems, and finally (iii) realizing a laboratory proof-of-concept demonstrator of an Electro-Optical/Radio-Frequency quantum sensor. This paper describes the current results of this ongoing project.
Quantum sensing technologies can reach levels of accuracy and performance beyond the limitations of classical sensing. Their market availability could revolutionize the defence capabilities, by leading to paradigmatic shifts in the design of future systems. The project QUANDO "Quantum Technologies for Defence with Application to Optronics" focuses on the investigation of Quantum Sensing Technologies (QSTs) in Defence applications for Detection, Recognition, Identification, and Tracking (DRIT) of difficult targets. The project aims at (i) investigating QSTs for Optronics, in order to improve the DRIT of difficult optical targets, (ii) exploring potential applications of quantum technologies to Radio Frequency sensor systems, and finally (iii) realizing a laboratory proof-of-concept demonstrator of an Electro-Optical/Radio-Frequency quantum sensor. This paper describes the current results of this ongoing project.
Current technology trends indicate that quantum computers are on the threshold of broad adoption and usability across many industries. At present a number of quantum computers have been realized in hardware, typically with only a few qubits and with performance limitations including short coherence times, difficult coupling to input/output processing, and strong susceptibility to noise in the ambient environment. However, the separate but closely related field of quantum sensing shows much more near-term promise in respect of its applicability to broad classes of systems and missions, including many types of aerospace systems, sensors, and the processing and evaluation of their data. This paper reviews the basic methodology and types of quantum sensing, some history of related measurements and proof-of-concept experiments, and assesses the potential applicability of quantum sensing techniques to future aerospace sensors and systems. Performance metrics using published models and demonstration experiments show distinct performance advantages in several cases and are used to compare near-term quantum sensing to more conventional systems. In addition, the application of quantum communication to networked systems is discussed, along with the potential for novel data fusion techniques using quantum-inspired protocols and methods.
Quantum Sensing (QS) is a sub-category of Quantum Technologies (QT). Within defence and military domains, QT is considered an Emerging Disrupting Technology (EDT). QS leverages the properties of Quantum mechanics (QM) to develop and introduce a new family of sensors that are unmatched in performance compared with classical sensors. As such, QS might have the ability to break current stealth technologies and detect avionics, underground facilities, or undersea objects such as submarines and man-made structures, which are key capabilities of a Nuclear Deterrence (NT) strategy. This paper examines the current development in QS and the potential impact of this EDT on military operations with a focus on nuclear deterrence.
The current rise of quantum technology is compelled by quantum sensing research. Thousands of research labs are developing and testing a broad range of sensor prototypes. However, there is a lack of knowledge about specific applications and real-world use cases where the benefits of these sensors will be most pronounced. This study presents a comprehensive review of quantum sensing state-of-practice. It also provides a detailed analysis of how quantum sensing overcomes the existing limitations of sensor-driven systems’ precision and performance. Based on the review of over 500 quantum sensor prototype reports, we determined four groups of quantum sensors and discussed their readiness for commercial usage. We concluded that quantum magnetometry and quantum optics are the most advanced sensing technologies with empirically proven results. In turn, quantum timing and kinetics are still in the early stages of practical validation. In addition, we defined four systems domains in which quantum sensors offer a solution for existing limitations of conventional sensing technologies. These domains are 1) GPS-free positioning and navigating services, 2) time-based operations, 3) topological visibility, and 4) environment detection, prediction, and modeling. Finally, we discussed the current constraints of quantum sensing technologies and offered directions for future research.
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the role of Quantum Radar in strengthening India's air defence architecture by addressing the limitations of classical radar systems against stealth and low-observable aerial threats. Air defence in the 21st century is characterised by a continuous contest between detection and evasion. While modern radars have evolved through digital beamforming, phased arrays, and frequency agility, stealth technology—through shaping, radar-absorbent coatings, and signature management—has reduced aircraft radar cross-section to unprecedented levels. For India, facing a two-front threat from technologically advanced adversaries, reliable detection of stealth aircraft, cruise missiles, and UAVs is a strategic necessity. Quantum Radar, based on Quantum Illumination principles, utilises photon entanglement and correlation to detect low-RCS targets even in high-noise and jamming environments. This paper presents a comparative evaluation of Quantum Radar with India's indigenous radar systems and examines engineering implementation prospects under the National Quantum Mission. A phased roadmap is proposed to integrate photonic and quantum sensing technologies within the Integrated Air Defence System, enabling future-ready, quantum-resilient surveillance and target acquisition capabilities for the Indian Armed Forces.
Many quantum technologies are dual-use technologies that can introduce new capabilities to defence and security-related applications or increase their effectiveness. In particular, diamond-based quantum sensors have great potential due to the high robustness of this material in conjunction with quantum effects accessible at room temperature. The negatively charged nitrogen vacancy centre (NV-), an atomic defect within the diamond matrix, carries an electron spin that can be actively addressed and read-out via optical and electrical means at room temperature. This electron spin is highly sensitive to external magnetic fields, temperature, and pressure and thus well-suited for quantum sensing in defence and security. Nowadays, diamond is reliably produced by means of chemical vapour deposition, allowing for tailored sensor elements, such as with oriented NV centres in layers and in microstructures that are highly interesting for vector magnetometry. Sensitive magnetometry is useful in global magnetic navigation, detecting metallic objects like submarines, human-machine interfaces and more. Apart from that, radiofrequency signals are detected in real-time with GHz spectral coverage in radar analysis. Recently, the use of these diamond-based quantum sensing technologies for side-channel attacks has come into focus, for example, to gather information on implementation of algorithms for cryptosystems. These technologies are introduced along with the fabrication of the underlying diamond sensor element.
Electromagnetic warfare (EW) refers to military operations exploiting the electromagnetic spectrum, and includes transmitting and receiving information encoded in electromagnetic fields. In order to interpret such information, effective sensing systems are of great importance. For EW applications, the radio frequency (RF) spectrum is specifically relevant. Traditional RF receivers and transmitters rely on antennas and associated electronic components, whose performance is fundamentally limited by constraints imposed by the laws of classical physics. Motivated by the fundamental limitations of classical technologies, quantum technology has emerged as a strategic research area in many countries, with applications in computing, communication and sensing, and could therefore be useful in EW applications in the future. This thesis aims to investigate and compare two quantum sensing approaches: Rydberg atombased electric field sensors and nitrogen-vacancy center magnetometers. The goal is to evaluate their sensing principles, fundamental limitations and potential competitiveness compared to classical RF receivers. The work combines a literature review of published research in order to understand the underlying quantum mechanical principles enabling electromagnetic field sensing, with analytical comparisons of sensitivity and detection range. Classical receiver performance was modeled using thermal-noise-limited sensitivity, while quantum sensor performance was estimated using reported sensitivities from literature. Detection range calculations were performed under simplified assumptions to illustrate the differences between conventional and atom-based sensing approaches. The results show that current quantum sensors do not yet surpass state-of-the-art classical receivers in raw sensitivity. However, they offer several unique characteristics, including intrinsic calibration, wide frequency tunability and the possibility of direct field-based measurements without conventional impedance matching. The comparison further highlights the fundamentally different noise mechanisms governing classical and quantum sensing systems. Overall, quantum sensing represents a promising emerging technology for electromagnetic field detection. Although significant technical challenges remain, continued advances may enable future quantum sensors to complement or partially replace conventional RF sensing technologies.