U.S. Air Force Research Lab Pitching Quantum Efforts to the Public
AFRL’s ‘Quantum Collider’ Focuses On Boosting ISR, PNT
Key points…
+ In a first of a kind event [this] week, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) will award up to 36 contracts designed to push research on ground-breaking uses of quantum science out of university labs and eventually into the hands of warfighters.
The lab is also kicking off “a worldwide $1 million challenge that canvases the international quantum research community for novel solutions in the emerging field,” AFRL says.
+ “Quantum information science (QIS) will impact many future Air Force capabilities. This includes GPS-like precision in locations where there is no GPS signal or it is severely degraded, ultra-secure global communication networks, high-precision sensors linked together with a quantum network, and new computing paradigms for optimization of asset and resource allocations, discovery of new materials, and novel applications of artificial intelligence,” Michael Hayduk, Information Directorate deputy director responsible for coordinating quantum research across AFRL, said in an official story.
+ The Quantum Collider is the first of a series of planned AFRL events aimed at spurring cutting-edge university research, based on awards under the little-known Small Business Tech Transfer Research (STTR) program. Air Force acquisition head Will Roper told reporters on Tuesday that the STTR account has only about “$100 million and change” to spend per year, but is important all the same.
Source: BREAKING DEFENSE. Theresa Hitchens, AFRL’s ‘Quantum Collider’ Focuses On Boosting ISR, PNT…
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