Air Force wants to leap ahead in quantum computing
Quantum computing could be a competitive advantage for the U.S. military, and the Air Force Research Lab wants to keep pace.
WHAT: A broad agency announcement from the Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate for research related to quantum computing.
WHY: Governments and technology firms view quantum computing, which allows for faster calculations by going beyond traditional binary computing, as a potential source of strategic advantage.
In this call for white papers, the Air Force wants to focus on quantum computing that can be applied to the command and control of information through advanced algorithms and other means. The announcement notes that quantum computing can be applied to defense-related issues such as machine learning, logistics and scheduling.
"In addition to algorithm development, AFRL/RI is interested in exploring the science and technology underlying quantum annealing and studying it as only possible on an actual computer," the announcement states.
The Air Force does not want the call for research to be a one-off initiative. Instead, officials said they hope a user community consisting of government, industry and academia will develop around quantum computing.
There is about $40 million available through the program over five years.
Click here to read the announcement.