Analyst(s): Bob Sutor
Publication Date: May 5, 2025
Quantum technologies are on the brink of providing new levels of accuracy for measuring time and position. Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and the United States Global Positioning System (GPS), in particular, are not going away soon but are prone to spoofing and jamming.
Companies are developing quantum devices for “dual use” in which they will initially have military and defense applications and then commercial ones. The devices will first be additional backups to current non-quantum technologies, then complement them, and eventually become the primary systems.
Key Points:
- In several parts of the world, actions by bad actors and the military have jammed or spoofed Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals, making the services unreliable.
- Quantum atomic clocks and inertial sensors measuring changes in gravitational forces, rotation, and acceleration will soon provide positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) backup services to GNSS, eventually becoming the prime devices for timekeeping and navigation.
- We will likely see widespread quantum advantages in PNT and sensing before quantum computing.
Overview:
Quantum technologies are transforming how we measure time and navigate the world, offering solutions to current satellite-based systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and other GNSS vulnerabilities. GNSS, including systems operated by the U.S., China, Russia, the EU, Japan, and India, use signals from multiple satellites to provide accurate location and timing information for everything from smartphone navigation to critical infrastructure such as power grids and financial networks.
Despite their widespread use, GNSS have significant weaknesses. They are susceptible to jamming, where stronger local radio signals disrupt satellite communications, and spoofing, where false signals trick receivers into reporting incorrect positions or times. Natural phenomena such as solar flares, heavy weather, and physical obstructions such as mountains or tall buildings can also degrade signal quality or cause outages. When GNSS fails, users must rely on older backup systems, such as ground-based radio navigation or instrument landing systems for aircraft.
Navigation once relied on dead reckoning: starting from a known position, tracking speed and direction, and calculating new positions over time. However, errors in speed or time measurement accumulate, leading to significant inaccuracies, especially over long journeys or when changing directions. Accurate navigation without GNSS requires extremely precise clocks, accelerometers, and gyroscopes, particularly in environments where satellite signals are unavailable, such as underwater or in space.
Atomic clocks, which use the quantum properties of atoms such as cesium, rubidium, or strontium, provide a highly stable and accurate frequency reference. These clocks are far more precise than quartz-based clocks, drifting by only a second over millions of years in the most advanced laboratory versions. GNSS satellites themselves carry atomic clocks, but even these require regular recalibration from ground stations to maintain accuracy.
Quantum accelerometers and gyroscopes can maintain accurate navigation over long periods without external signals. Quantum inertial measurement units (IMUs), which combine accelerometers and gyroscopes, enable precise dead reckoning for vehicles, aircraft, and submarines.
Quantum gravimeters, another emerging technology, measure tiny fluctuations in gravity with exceptional sensitivity. These can help map the Earth’s shape, detect underground structures, or locate objects underwater, tasks that require far more accuracy than traditional gravimeters can provide.
As quantum clocks and sensors become smaller, more affordable, and easier to integrate, they are expected to move from laboratory prototypes to practical devices for both military and civilian use. Initially, they will serve as robust backups for GNSS, but as their capabilities grow, they may eventually become the primary means of navigation and timing, offering resilience against jamming, spoofing, and other threats that challenge today’s satellite-based systems.
The full report expands upon these topics and includes a table of vendors with commercial quantum PNT products.
Futurum clients can read about it in the Futurum Intelligence Platform, and non-clients can learn more here: Futurum Intelligence.
About the Futurum Quantum Computing Practice
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Author Information
Dr. Bob Sutor is a Consulting Analyst for Futurum and an expert in quantum technologies with 40+ years of experience. He is an accomplished author of the quantum computing book Dancing with Qubits, Second Edition. Bob is dedicated to evolving quantum to help solve society's critical computational problems. For Futurum, he helps clients understand sophisticated technologies and how to make the best use of them for success in their organizations and industries.
He’s the author of a book about quantum computing called Dancing with Qubits, which was published in 2019, with the Second Edition released in March 2024. He is also the author of the 2021 book Dancing with Python, an introduction to Python coding for classical and quantum computing. Areas in which he’s worked: quantum computing, AI, blockchain, mathematics and mathematical software, Linux, open source, standards management, product management and marketing, computer algebra, and web standards.
