With The Army’s Planned Possession Of Quantum Communication Technology, India Enters An Elite Group

With the Army soon possessing indigenous and more sophisticated quantum communication technology, providing troops with a cutting-edge protected defence system, India is ready to join the exclusive global club.

According to the defence ministry, the Bengaluru-based deep tech start-up QNu Labs has overcome geographical barriers by innovating advanced secured communication through Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems under the auspices of Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX), a Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO).

The ministry reported that following the trials’ success, the Army has started the process of acquiring QKD equipment created by QNu Labs by releasing a commercial Request for Proposals (RFP).

Global leaders in the QKD systems, where the Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) has achieved some advances, include China, the US, Canada, and several European nations. “Quantum technology has a significant potential for military use and might significantly alter contemporary conflict.

Between two endpoints separated by a specific distance (in this example, more than 150 km), a QKD system enables the production of a secret pair of symmetric keys that are quantum secure “the ministry said. According to the MoD, the QKD aids in the creation of an impenetrable quantum channel for producing impenetrable encryption keys, which are used to secure crucial data, audio, and video across endpoints.

Encouraged by the developments, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar described the development of indigenous QKD technology as a “milestone achievement” in “Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal” and an appropriate success story for Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). Kumar praised the efforts of iDEX deep tech start-ups that are providing the armed forces with cutting-edge tools for contemporary and apocalyptic conflict.

The Army is aggressively investigating this technology, similar to other highly developed military, as a means of fusing a high data density with decision support capabilities to safely transmit communication to troop leaders at various levels.

According to Sunil Gupta, co-founder and CEO of QNu Labs, the goal of using quantum technology to advance deep technologies in data security has finally been realised. Gupta said, “Winning the Open Challenge-2 of iDEX has given QNu Labs a starting pad to attain this remarkable performance.