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.

In the coming months, the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU’s) Transition of Quantum Sensing (TQS) program will demonstrate the military utility of quantum sensors to address strategic Joint Force competencies like positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), as well as anomaly detection. Significant progress on the scientific understanding and product development of quantum sensors, offering the promise of significant improvements in precision, accuracy, and sensitivity compared to classical sensors, is being made, and these solutions, as well as the supporting companies advancing these technologies, are ready to proceed forward.