The Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Directorate is creating a new portfolio for integrating nascent technologies into military operations and recruiting industry for quantum sensors that can provide alternative position, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities. Initiatives have begun.
According to commercial solution launch information posted on DIU's website on Thursday, the organization is seeking prototypes that can be demonstrated for military applications under its Transition to Quantum Sensors (TQS) program. The multi-year, multi-phase effort aims to mature the quantum sensing technology and demonstrate it as an “end-to-end Department of Defense operational utility.”
The TQS program is part of the department's new “Emerging Technologies” portfolio, also announced by the DIU on Thursday. According to a report, Air Force Lt. Col. Nicholas Estep has been selected to lead the portfolio, which will focus on commercial and non-traditional “deep technology” capabilities that have no established or defined migration path into the Pentagon's business ecosystem. It is said that it will be placed there. press release.
DIU's other portfolios include artificial intelligence, autonomy, cyber and communications, energy, human systems, and space.
Quantum sensors are designed to detect changes in movement and electric and magnetic fields at the atomic level, and “can be expected to significantly improve accuracy, precision, and sensitivity compared to conventional sensors,” TQS's recruitment said. It is stated in.
The technology has reached a point of maturity and is ready for the Department of Defense to conduct operational demonstrations for military applications, according to the listing. The TQS program includes his three initiatives: inertial sensing, magnetometer, and technology implementation for spiral enhancement of quantum sensing.
This effort primarily examines how both inertial and magnetic sensor systems can provide enhancement and security to missions that rely on the Department of Defense's PNTs, such as dynamic space operations.
Compared to traditional systems, inertial sensors demonstrate reduced drift rates, i.e., gradual and subtle changes in the sensor that can cause discrepancies between the actual data being measured and the system's output. It has been.
“Reduced drift by quantum inertial systems results in longer holdover times for navigation solutions, improving mission effectiveness in the absence of precise position updates from systems such as GPS,” the request states. It has been.
Magnetic navigation (MagNav) systems, on the other hand, are highly resistant to interference from enemy attacks and environmental conditions. As a result, these sensors can be used in locations where other sensors cannot operate, “such as over water where weather may impede visibility of celestial bodies or terrain, or during long missions where drift dominates inertial navigation solutions.” But the post says it might work.
DIU is also interested in how magnetometers can enhance geomagnetic surveys and magnetic anomaly detection missions for submarines and explosive hazardous materials. The organization is looking for a commercial solution that can be integrated into drones and maintain the sensitivity needed to accurately track anomalous magnetic signatures on Earth.
Proposals are due by May 29th. While industry can submit solutions for one or both use cases, DIU will prioritize technologies with modular, iterative designs that can address both mission areas.
“The objective is to complete the prototyping program with an intermediate functional demonstration of the end-to-end solution, followed by an operational demonstration of associated military applications and mission sets within the next five years.” It is stated here. “During the program, opportunities for design spirals, including the insertion of technological enhancements, are expected.”
Another early focus of DIU's emerging technology portfolio is existing and upcoming hypersonics efforts. It will take over the organization's High Cadence Airborne Test Capability (HyCAT) program, which aims to create a prototype hypersonic test system for the Department of Defense.
In the future, the portfolio will launch prototyping efforts in “advanced materials and propulsion, nanotechnology, photonics, microelectronics, additive manufacturing, and quantum information science,” according to the release.
