Quantum sensing and quantum cryptography for contested operational environments
Executive Summary
Quantum sensing and quantum-safe cryptography are rapidly emerging as foundational technologies for the future of European defence and strategic autonomy. This report explores how these capabilities are reshaping military ISR, navigation, secure communications and electromagnetic situational awareness in contested environments. While public institutions have launched ambitious initiatives such as EuroQCI and the NATO Quantum Strategy, private capital remains underexposed to this frontier. The report provides a structured overview of the state of the art in quantum inertial sensors, gravimetry, magnetometry and post-quantum encryption, alongside real-world deployments in GPS-denied navigation and naval surveillance. It identifies key use cases—ranging from submarine detection to resilient command-and-control—and explains why quantum capabilities are increasingly critical to operational resilience across air, sea, space and cyber domains.
Crucially, the report maps a new generation of European startups and SMEs developing deployable quantum technologies with clear dual-use relevance and growing institutional backing. Companies such as Aquark Technologies, PQShield, Muquans (Exail), Zero Point Motion and CryptoNext Security are featured for their defence-grade innovation and public-private funding traction. For investors, this report clarifies where strategic value is concentrating and which actors are best positioned to deliver it. It offers a unique intelligence product: an investment-grade, evidence-based guide to an opaque but fast-maturing sector, with analysis grounded exclusively in official and specialist sources. For subscribers to Defence Finance Monitor, it represents a rare opportunity to anticipate capital flows and access early-stage visibility in one of Europe’s most sensitive, underexploited dual-use markets.