NATO Sets Quantum Roadmap For Military Trials And Secure Communications

Insider Brief

• NATO’s new quantum roadmap sets priorities and deadlines for testing military applications, protecting communications and preparing allied forces to adopt quantum technologies.
• Planned activities include quantum sensing sea trials in 2026 and 2027, initial military pilot assessments in 2027 and a quantum-resilient communications pilot linking NATO headquarters in Brussels and Mons.
• The roadmap calls for quantum-resistant cryptography, common standards and workforce training, while making broader operational deployment dependent on technical progress and trial results.

NATO has set deadlines for testing quantum technologies in military operations and strengthening its defenses against quantum threats, turning its research ambitions into a schedule of trials, assessments and security projects.

The alliance’s new Quantum Technology Roadmap calls for sea trials of quantum sensors in 2026 and 2027, an initial report on military pilot evaluations in early 2027 and a communications pilot linking NATO headquarters in Brussels with its military headquarters in Mons, Belgium, by the end of 2027.

The plan also calls for developing a concept for an allied quantum computing access network in the fourth quarter of 2027. That milestone is focused on the network’s design, rather than a commitment to have an operational network running by then.