Quantum precision for tactical programs the aim of DARPA effort
NewsSeptember 15, 2025
ARLINGTON, Va. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) embarked on the initial phase of its Robust Quantum Sensors (RoQS) program, the agency's effort to make quantum sensing viable beyond the lab and find uses on the ground, at sea, in the air, and even in space.
A recent DARPA announcement about the RoQS program stated that RoQS aims to create inherently robust sensors that reject interference, withstand motion, and deliver reliable, state-of-the-art performance across domains. The goal of the program is to remove barriers to field deployment of quantum sensing; accelerate the transition from lab to mission; and unlock new capabilities in navigation, threat detection, and situational awareness.
While quantum sensors enable highly precise detection of magnetic and electric fields, acceleration, rotation, and gravity, their extreme sensitivity has made them notoriously fragile in real-world environments and limited their operational use. DARPA says that RoQS is taking a fundamentally new approach to this challenge: not by applying temporary fixes like shielding or isolation, but by rethinking sensor design from the ground up.
The first phase of the program is in progress, with two technical areas kicking off in parallel: sensor development, under which teams will build compact, “walk-on/walk-off” quantum sensors and test them on a government-provided helicopter. Sensors that pass this test can then be trusted to work on a wide range of other Department of Defense (DoD) platforms; and platform integration studies, where participants will work with the defense industrial base to identify specific Programs of Record (PoRs) and platform types (ground vehicles, submarines, satellites, uncrewed aerial vehicles) where quantum sensors could deliver strategic value.
Results garnered from the first phase will help shape integration paths and technical requirements for the project's second phase.
