DOD Should Focus on Short-Term Goals in Quantum Science, Says Undersecretary of Defense for Research & Engineering

(Defense.gov) During testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Michael D. Griffin, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering explained that the Defense Department is focusing a lot of effort on an array of technologies involving quantum science. The department’s chief technology officer says it’s important to be realistic about timelines for the most fantastic applications of that technology — and to focus on what’s plausible in the short term for best equipping the warfighter.
“First and foremost [are] quantum clocks to give us timekeeping, precision, synchronized timekeeping and precision [that are] two, or possibly even three, orders of magnitude better than we have today,” Griffin told lawmakers. “That’s critically important for maintaining communications in a GPS-denied environment where we might have to fight a war.”
Quantum sensors for inertial navigation or navigation by other means, as well as quantum magnetometers to improve navigation information, are also critical technologies, Griffin said.
“These are the things that we will see in the next few years and where we are focusing a substantial amount of our effort,” Griffin said.