DARPA Wants to Scale Quantum
The technology already works. The next challenge is building enough of it
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Quantum technology has already demonstrated what it can do. The harder question now is whether it can be manufactured at the scale needed for real-world deployment.
DARPA is taking on that challenge with its new It’s About Time program, which aims to establish a pilot manufacturing pipeline for tactical-grade optical clocks. The agency wants to prove that highly sensitive quantum systems can be produced repeatedly, integrated into existing platforms and ruggedized for operational environments.
Optical clocks can deliver timing precision many orders of magnitude beyond GPS-grade systems. That could enable navigation without GPS, more resilient communications and highly precise sensing of changes in gravity – capabilities with obvious implications for military systems operating in contested environments.
The manufacturing challenge is substantial. Quantum sensors are typically built in small, customized batches by specialized technicians, with few standardized processes for assembly, calibration and testing. Components including advanced lasers and integrated photonics can be difficult to combine even in a single prototype.
DARPA's program builds on nearly five years of work under its Robust Optical Clock Network (ROCkN), which progressed from a laboratory proof of concept to compact optical clocks tested both at national laboratories and in the field. A companion effort, Optical-Atomic System Integration & Calibration (OASIC), helped establish requirements and testing, calibration, packaging and standardization procedures.
Now DARPA wants to turn that experience into a production pipeline. The agency has awarded the contract to IonQ, which acquired ROCkN participant Vector Atomic. A manufacturing facility is expected to open by mid-2027, with production units targeted within a year of completion.
And the optical clock is only the starting point. DARPA says the manufacturing model could eventually be applied to other quantum technologies, including quantum RF sensors and infrared imaging.
The shift is significant: quantum's next bottleneck may no longer be proving what the technology can do, but figuring out how to build enough of it.