In the first-of-its-kind trials, the navy’s Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office (DCTO) worked with Saab and quantum technology experts Aquark Technologies to further test the company’s AQlock.
The cold atom clock does not rely on traditional timing information provided by conventional global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Instead, atoms inside are slowed down at very low temperatures and detect any changes by comparing the frequency of the clock to those atoms, allowing for ultra-precise timing.
Already tested at sea for three days with HMS Pursuer last year, the latest trials saw the clock work with Saab’s Giraffe 1X radars at Saab and Qinetiq sites, with Royal Navy experimentation ship XV Patrick Blackett and DSTL acting as network rebroadcast nodes.
Aquark Technologies delivered two “quantum” atomic clocks to two locations; the clocks then provided the radar on Portsdown Hill with information normally gathered from traditional navigational systems.
In a step further, the trials then mimicked spoofing or jamming of navigation systems which can be vulnerable to outside tampering.
The Giraffe 1X radar operators, using a network spanning several pieces of software and hardware, were able to observe these manipulations of their system including deliberate misalignment of timestamps.
As well as the Royal Navy and Aquark, Saab, Qinetiq, and Dstl were also involved in the trials.
Matthew Aldous, Timing Lead at Aquark Technologies, said: “This trial is a milestone in the development of UK sovereign quantum technology and a UK first-of-its-kind military application of a UK atomic clock.
“It’s the first known time that a pair of British built cold atom systems has been deployed in answer to a genuine defense challenge, and we’re very proud to work with Saab and the Royal Navy in this way.”
Andy Fraser Moore, Group Managing Director at Saab UK, added: “This trial is a great example of how collaboration can accelerate innovation. By combining quantum timing technology with Saab’s advanced Giraffe 1X radar system, we have demonstrated a practical capability that could help customers continue to operate effectively when it matters most.”
