London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Ministry of Defence acquires government's first quantum computer

Ministry of Defence acquires government's first quantum computer

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has acquired the government's first quantum computer.

Quantum computers can make very complex calculations extremely quickly and their creators say they can solve the problems regular computers cannot.

The MoD will work with British company Orca Computing to explore applications for quantum technology in defence.

Stephen Till, of the MoD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), called it a "milestone moment".

The computers found in most of our homes and workplaces process data in bits, which have a binary value of either zero or one.

Quantum computers instead use a two-state unit for data processing called a qubit.

This can represent digits like one or zero simultaneously through a quantum mechanical process called superposition, letting quantum computers bridge binary digits and cope with uncertainty where regular computers cannot.

Quantum computing experts and physicists say this means that the problems combed over by average computers for years could be solved in a matter of minutes.


Promise v reality


Prof Winfried Hensinger, head of the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies at University of Sussex, says the true potential of quantum computers will take time to fully materialise.

"They can't actually solve any practical problems yet. They're enabling you to maybe gauge the possibilities of what working on a quantum computer would have if you can scale this machine to really large system sizes."

But he adds the promise of quantum computing, and the MoD's exploration of it, is still significant.

"Quantum computing can be disruptive in nearly any industry sector," Prof Hensinger adds.

"You can imagine that within defence, there's a lot of problems where optimisation can play a huge and very important role."


Try explaining the ins and outs of quantum computing at a party and you may not hold your friends' attention for very long.

It is a very complex concept, and works in a completely different way to your laptop, or the phone in your pocket - or even the giant supercomputers that can process mind-boggling amounts of data in a nanosecond.

The promise of quantum computing is that it will help to solve problems that standard computers can't handle.

The idea is that it will be used in the fight against climate change, in the development of new drugs and improved artificial intelligence - and in this case, potentially to support the military.

Just like the early days of standard computers though, we are at the stage where these machines are very few and very cumbersome, not least because their building blocks, qubits, have to be kept frozen.

But Orca's machine does not require this, meaning the device can be a lot smaller, and a little bit more practical.


A vote of confidence


Richard Murray, chief executive of Orca Computing, says despite debate over the realities and capabilities of quantum computing, the company's work with the MoD is a "significant vote of confidence".

"Our partnership with MoD gives us the type of hands-on close interaction, working with real hardware which will help us to jointly discover new applications of this revolutionary new technology."

Orca's PT-1 quantum computer


The MoD will work with Orca's small PT-1 quantum computer, which the company says is the first of its kind to be able to operate at room temperature, rather than require sub-zero surroundings to keep heat-sensitive qubits cool.

Orca's system uses photons, or single units of light, to optimise machine learning tasks like image analysis and decision-making.

Mr Till says having access to Orca's quantum computer will accelerate the MoD's understanding of the technology.

"We expect the Orca system to provide significantly improved latency - the speed at which we can read and write to the quantum computer," he says.


Watch: What is quantum computing?


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×