First flights for quantum navigation technology

By on 21 May, 2024
UK Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, Andrew Griffith, speaking in front of the aircraft on which the test flights were made. Photo courtesy QinetiQ.

In what has been claimed as a first-of-its-kind achievement, the UK has successfully completed commercial flight trials of advanced quantum-based navigation systems that cannot be jammed or spoofed.

It is hoped that new, quantum-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) systems could, over time, offer one part of a larger solution to providing highly accurate and resilient navigation that complements current satellite systems.

Infleqtion, a quantum technology firm, in collaboration with aerospace companies BAE Systems and QinetiQ, completed the trials at the UK Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down facility in Wiltshire.

The tests were the first time that this sort of technology has been tested in the UK on an aircraft in flight, and the first such flights worldwide have been publicly acknowledged.

Led by Infleqtion and in collaboration with industry and academic partners, the project has received backing of nearly £8 million from the UK Government.

In a series of test flights, the team led by Infleqtion demonstrated two quantum technologies: the compact Tiqker optical atomic clock and a tightly confined, ultra-cold-atom-based quantum system, both installed aboard QinetiQ’s RJ100 Airborne Technology Demonstrator aircraft.

The technology will form part of a Quantum Inertial Navigation System (Q-INS), which has the potential to revolutionise PNT, with the system offering exceptional accuracy and resilience, independent of traditional satellite navigation using GNSS.

The test is part of a project funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) specifically focusing on creating quantum sensors to address the UK’s heavy reliance on GNSS/GPS for location, navigation, and timing data. This dependence creates a vulnerability, as a single point of failure (such as jamming or spoofing GPS signals) could disrupt critical economic, defence and strategic activities.

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