A revolutionary UK-built atomic clock will make military operations more secure through experimental quantum technology.

Infleqtion, the world’s leading quantum information company, today announced its receipt of $11 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) as part of the latest tranche of awards under the Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT) program. This funding supports Infleqtion’s work on the Rack Mounted Optical Clocks project, with Tiqker at the forefront, driving advancements in precision timing solutions—critical for enhancing military operational readiness, secure communications, and mission success in contested environments.

Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) physicists are on track to bring the institution’s new atomic fountain online – the largest of its kind in the world – for applications to quantum sensing experiments in precise navigation and timekeeping.

Quantum sensors pave the way for innovation in sensing technology. They are set to revolutionise a variety of sectors, spanning from health care to space and defence. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is at the forefront of quantum sensor development, aiming to commercialise the technology for the benefit of many. The research institute strongly believes that broader adoption of quantum technologies has a strong and positive societal and environmental impact.

UK quantum technology company Aquark Technologies, in partnership with the Office of the Chief of Technology Officer (OCTO) for the Royal Navy, successfully demonstrated the capabilities of its novel cold atom technology on the Royal Navy’s HMS Pursuer vessel. The successful trial proves the robustness of Aquark’s technology for operation in demanding military conditions, unlocking new possibilities in areas such as covert monitoring that require precise signals for accurate positioning, navigation and timing.

An new project, launched by the European Commission and supported by the Quantum Flagship, is set to transform the way in which Earth monitoring is conducted by providing more accurate data on changes in ice melt, groundwater depletion, and ocean circulation. CARIOQA-PMP is a new €17 million project that seeks to improve traditional gravity-sensing methods by incorporating the capabilities of quantum sensors.

An international research team led by scientists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder, has demonstrated key elements of a nuclear clock. A nuclear clock is a novel type of timekeeping device that would use signals from the core, or nucleus, of an atom. The team used a specially designed ultraviolet laser to precisely measure the frequency of an energy jump in thorium nuclei embedded in a solid crystal.

Researchers at TMOS, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems, and their collaborators at RMIT University have developed a new 2D quantum sensing chip using hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) that can simultaneously detect temperature anomalies and magnetic field in any direction in a new, groundbreaking thin-film format.

In humankind’s ever-ticking pursuit of perfection, scientists have developed an atomic clock that is more precise and accurate than any clock previously created. The new clock was built by researchers at JILA, a joint institution of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder.

After development and testing with leading government and private sector partners, SandboxAQ is officially announcing AQNav, a breakthrough technology designed for navigation across air, land and sea when Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) systems are jammed or not available. To date, AQNav has logged more than 200 flight-hours and more than 40 sorties across multiple regions of the world on four different aircraft types, ranging in size from single-engine planes to large military transport aircraft.