The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has bought a quantum computer in the hope that the technology can be installed in battlefield tanks, says , the CEO of Orca Computing. Orca announced the deal with the MoD this week, but the initial focus is on research and training.
鈥淭his device we鈥檙e shipping to them certainly won鈥檛 do anything a classical computer won鈥檛, and I suppose, in that view, it鈥檚 a research tool,鈥� says Murray. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of activity being funded at the moment on upskilling them, getting them familiar with the system and getting them ready for actually having their own device.鈥�
Orca has had a quantum computer set aside for the MoD in its own laboratory for several months, used for testing and training. It now has four months remaining of a six-month deadline to supply the MoD with a PT-1 computer that will be installed at one of its bases.
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The PT-1 computer is a photonic device that doesn鈥檛 require bulky supercooling equipment, like some alternative quantum computer technologies. It fits within a small housing that can be installed in a standard computer server rack.
Murray says this ease of use was part of the appeal for the MoD. 鈥淭hey talked about it going on a tank or going on a moveable platform,鈥� he says. 鈥淥bviously, we鈥檙e not there yet, but that鈥檚 something that you might be able to do with the Orca system being at room temperature.鈥�
Future, more powerful versions of the device may have to be larger in order to perform useful calculations that aren鈥檛 possible with classical computers, says Murray, but he believes that such a device could still be installed in a range of military equipment.
鈥淚t lends itself to all of those types of things, and it鈥檚 more durable. I mean, one day, maybe a fighter jet. I think we鈥檙e focusing mostly on just maybe a larger-scale platform that can live on the ground,鈥� he says.
Modern battlefields involve a huge amount of reconnaissance and observation with a range of sensors, and turning all of that data into useful information is a 鈥渧ery computationally challenging task鈥�, says Murray. Quantum computers theoretically have the ability to radically speed up certain types of task, including simulation and optimisation, and this could potentially give soldiers an edge over their adversaries in certain situations.
An MoD spokesperson didn鈥檛 answer direct questions about the use of quantum computers in tanks, but told New 杏吧原创 that: 鈥淥ur ambition is that this technology will make communication on the battlefield significantly easier through applications such as image recognition and sensor management. This technology will make information processing for command decisions on the battlefield more agile and reduces risks from data sharing with an undeployable processor located off the battlefield.鈥�
