Quantum computing and sensing company Q-CTRL’s ambition is to be in “every Airbus aircraft” with what it describes as a world-leading alternative navigation solution. Ironstone Opal—its “un-jammable, unspoofable, undetectable quantum navigation system”—is also of particular relevance to defense platforms, with technological readiness levels currently being advanced alongside partner and investor Lockheed Martin.
Q-CTRL’s hardware-agnostic software platform, designed to operate when traditional GPS signals cannot be relied upon, is a form of alternative navigation that chief strategy officer Aravind Ratnam believes is becoming increasingly necessary in today’s geopolitical climate. Q-CTRL says that in 2024, it became the first company “to actually demonstrate fully working magnetic navigation,” with Ironstone Opal now the world’s first airworthiness-qualified quantum-navigation GPS backup system, Ratnam told AIN.
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