The Royal Navy has successfully demonstrated the capabilities of ground-breaking cold atom technology. P2000 vessel HMS Pursuer hosted the trial, which unlocks new possibilities in areas such as covert monitoring, which require precise signals for accurate positioning, navigation and timing.
The Office of the Chief of Technology Officer (OCTO) for the RN worked with UK quantum technology company Aquark Technologies.
The trial involved the company’s miniature cold atom systems, founded on Aquark’s unique laser-cooling method, known as supemolasses. This method to generate cold atoms does not need an applied magnetic field, therefore reducing the size, weight, power consumption and cost of sensors.
A cold atom is an atom that has been laser-cooled to extremely low temperatures, typically near absolute zero (-273.15C). At these temperatures, the thermal motion of atoms is very slow, allowing their quantum mechanical properties to be precisely controlled. Quantum Sensing is an advanced sensor technology that detects changes in motion, and electric and magnetic fields, by collecting data at the atomic level.
Commander Matthew Steele, who heads up Future Technology for OCTO, said: “Quantum technologies being developed in the UK will offer an alternative Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) capability necessary to operate effectively in GPS denied or degraded environments,
“Over the next three years, the Navy seeks to accelerate the development of quantum technologies – such as Aquarks – through funding and sea trials, to secure the Royal Navy an opportunity to invest in a non-GPS-based PNT capability and to maintain its global operating advantage.”
Lieutenant John Hawke, Commanding Officer of HMS Pursuer, added: “It was a great privilege to conduct these trials with Aquark Technologies. The Royal Navy is at the cutting-edge of modern technology, and assisting in the development of new products is key to maintaining our operational advantage whilst also supporting UK industry.”
Cold atoms were captured continuously throughout the trials, which involved several locations onboard HMS Pursuer. The trials highlighted areas that require further work, particularly magnetic shielding, which will be channelled into Aquark’s prototype atomic clock system, called AQlock, the UK’s first commercial cold atom clock.
Quantum sensing can power military and defence operations to achieve full performance, even in environments where GPS may be degraded or denied. Aquark Technologies successfully raised €5 million in seed funding, with investment led by the NATO Innovation Fund and supported by MBDA, an alliance between aerospace and defence specialists Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo. Other investors included UKI2S, managed by Future Planet Capital, the Export and Investment fund of Denmark (EIFO).
Aquark Technologies Co-Founder and CEO, Andrei Dragomir, said: “With this latest trial of our technology at sea with the Royal Navy, we are continuing to show the real-life applications of our technology after our successful flight of the first cold atom device on a drone.
“The completion of this trial marks an encouraging milestone for the future of quantum technologies in fields such as defence and infrastructure. Demonstrating these cold atom systems in real-world environments will drive us towards deployable systems. Our goal now is to continue enhancing our technology off the back of these results and with the help of our recent investment to make them ready for real-world use.”
