“Empowerment for the Quantum Era 2.0 “ was the motto of the Quantum Symposium of the German Federal Armed Forces and BWI on 14 Nov 2024 in Berlin where our CEO Johannes Verst delivered a key note on “The View of the German and European Quantum Industry on Quantum Technologies for Defence” and discussed together with NATO, BSI, Fraunhofer IAF, Keequant, Quantum Optics Jena and other top institutions and QBN members, the opportunities and challenges of making the military quantum ready.
“We are all NATO. If NATO is to become quantum-ready, the private sector must become so at the same time,” said Johannes Teperoglou, NATO’s Senior Technical Advisor
At 130 billion, the US spends currently more than 9 times as much annually on defence R&D as the EU-27, while China expands its efforts rapidly. 64% of the private capital invested into European defence companies are from the US. Chinese companies are well anchored in the European ecosystem and are not afraid to make huge investments to gain insights into the current state of research and development of cutting-edge technologies. In some quantum areas that are crucial for defence, China is already ahead.
A modern soldier relies 80% on space services to communicate, position himself and operate various weapon systems. “The worst thing that can happen to a soldier is no communication” said Lieutenant Colonel Matthias Mönch of the German Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg).
“Quantum technologies must become a top priority at the political level as they ensure EU’s sovereignty, national security and economic growth.” emphasized Johannes Verst, CEO at QBN and called for action to “urgently prepare the defence sector and leverage synergies with the quantum industry.”
With 18% joint procurement and a fragmented R&D in the EU, long and non-transparent procurement processes in times of accelerated tech development cycles, it is more important than ever to have the best teams agilely working with the quantum industry to drive integration and adoption.
BWI, IT service provider of the German Armed Forces and long-term valued QBN member, is a pioneer in transferring knowledge about the potential, availability and market of quantum technologies into actionable roadmaps for the integration of quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum communication and cryptography.
Now is the time to act and expand the efforts to prevent being dictated to by other nations’ strategies. While we still need to catch up on digitization, AI and other missed mega trends, Germany and Europe have 24% of the global market share on Photonics components and systems for Defence and Security and has a leading quantum industry – Let’s transfer this potential to economic and security advantages.
The EU and Germany already have strategies for quantum in defence in place and are developing world-leading quantum technologies. But the EU also needs to be capable of using quantum technologies and building and maintaining according hard- and software infrastructures on own soil.
The task now is to get the military quantum ready. By fighting fragmentation, fostering collaboration, investing in R&D, and supporting startups, Europe will still be able to become a global leader in this critical field. Close cooperation with and transparent processes for start-ups in development, procurement and integration is particularly important, as they are the key innovators in quantum.
While is it crucial to strategically drive defence and security applications and adoptions civilian applications and benefits of these exciting technologies should always be prioritized.
Thanks for another great Quantensymposium! You rock BWI Quantum team!
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