WASHINGTON — The Defense Department awarded an $11 million contract to the quantum technology firm Infleqtion to accelerate development of its atomic timing technology,
The contract, announced on Dec. 2, is funded through the Pentagon’s APFIT program, short for Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies.
Infleqtion is based in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
The award underscores growing military interest in GPS-independent navigation tools amid concerns about potential weaknesses in the Global Positioning System. In conflict zones or during cyberattacks, GPS signals can be jammed, spoofed or disrupted.
Infleqtion’s breakthrough is Tiqker, a compact optical atomic clock that can be integrated into standard server racks. The device leverages quantum sensing, a technology that measures physical quantities with high precision by manipulating atomic quantum states.
“Tiqker is a quantum-based atomic frequency reference clock designed to meet national security and commercial demands for precise timing in environments where satellite-based time standards are unreliable or unavailable,” Matthew Kinsella, CEO of Infleqtion, said in a news release.
“The funding awarded to Infleqtion will accelerate the deployment and fielding of these clocks, ensuring they are integrated into defense systems faster,” he said.
The APFIT program, funded at $300 million in fiscal year 2024, was established in 2022 to fast-track promising technologies from small businesses and commercial firms into operational military use.
Infleqtion’s contract is part of a broader investment in quantum timing. The APFIT program also awarded $11 million to Vector Atomic, a California-based firm developing similar rack-mounted optical clocks.
