Australia tests quantum clocks with AUKUS partners

Australia's Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy with a QuantX Labs quantum clock at the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition 2025 in Sydney held from 4 to 6 November. (Commonwealth of Australia)

Australia has tested four domestically developed quantum clocks with the UK and the US under the AUKUS partnership's Pillar 2 efforts.

The tests were conducted “under various environmental conditions” over a period of six weeks in Washington, DC, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 4 November.

The AUKUS partners evaluated the quantum clocks' performance and potential for defence applications including to support communications and navigation systems, the DoD said.

“Quantum clocks are used to assure the synchronisation of communications networks; detect GPS spoofing and jamming; and provide reliable position, navigation, and timing (PNT) in contested environments.

“Integrating this technology into AUKUS partners' militaries will enhance the Australian Defence Force's (ADF's) ability to operate in environments where GPS navigation is unreliable or unavailable,” the DoD added.

Of the four quantum clocks tested, two have been developed by Adelaide-based QuantX Labs and two by University of Adelaide. The DoD said it invested AUD2.7 million (USD1.7 million) towards the development of these quantum clocks.

The DoD said the University of Adelaide built portable optical atomic clocks that use warm ytterbium vapour, while QuantX Labs built portable optical atomic clocks that employ “rubidium using a two-colour two-photon ... approach”.

The DoD awarded the contract to QuantX Labs to develop the quantum clocks in September 2024. Following the announcement of this contract, a QuantX Labs spokesperson told Janes, “The advantage of optical clocks over their microwave counterparts stems from the fact that a clock's accuracy is, in principle, proportional to its ticking frequency.”