Ready before the hardware is: How agencies can get ahead of the quantum curve

Agencies should be doing the analogous work now, for their own missions, regardless of where the hardware ends up.

Federal agencies are building real momentum in quantum computing, and the scope of that effort is genuinely thoughtful. The Air Force Research Laboratory and the Naval Research Laboratory recently signed a cooperative agreement in 2023 to exchange technical expertise and collaborate on quantum computing capabilities for the Defense Department, one of several such efforts exploring how quantum-accelerated modeling and simulation can support aerospace and defense missions. The White House’s June executive order directs the secretaries of Commerce, Defense and Energy, along with the NASA administrator, to develop five-year plans for deploying quantum-enabled sensors and networks. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative has moved more than a dozen companies into staged evaluations of whether a genuinely useful quantum computer can exist by 2033. By nearly every measure, the government is treating quantum as a serious, long-term priority worth building on.