The Australian Department of Defence said its latest quantum research project aims to enhance secure timing technologies for military operations. The project — a collaboration between the Defence Science and Technology Group, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the Australian National University, and the University of Western Australia — focuses on developing a new technology called Quantum-Secured Time Transfer as an alternative to GPS, which is vulnerable to jamming and spoofing.
Currently, the Australian Defence Force relies heavily on GPS for precise timing to share operational information, navigate and determine force positions. Defence said that with QSTT, there is a potential solution for maintaining secure timing even when GPS is denied or degraded.
According to Ben Sparkes, a quantum technologist involved in the project, QSTT uses entangled photons transmitted over an optical link to create a shared timing signal. This signal is difficult to spoof due to the principles of quantum mechanics and is also resistant to jamming and detection. Sparkes noted that this quantum link could also offer significantly improved relative positioning accuracy compared to GPS due to its superior timing performance.
Funded by the Australian Army, the new research project will focus on developing optical ground stations and quantum light sources — two essential components for the quantum link. “Establishing a link directly between the ground and a satellite is a key step towards allowing for the robust, secure and precise synchronization of timing between Defence assets across a battlespace,” Sparkes said.
The project builds on previous national investments in quantum innovation. In April 2024, the Australian and Queensland governments pledged $614 million to support PsiQuantum in building the world’s first commercial quantum computer near Brisbane Airport. Separately, in September 2024, the Australian Army awarded Infleqtion a Phase II contract to co-develop quantum physically unclonable functions to enhance the security and reliability of quantum systems against spoofing and falsification threats.