Defense Business Brief: Here comes the quantum boom; GDIT’s perspective; and Sec. 889

Defense Business Brief

The benefits of quantum technology could hit the mainstream sooner than you think—at least that’s what one company is aiming for.

“We’re actually really hoping in the next year or two [to] release these as products that people can buy and integrate into their cybersecurity protocols,” said Mehdi Namazi, co-founder and chief science officer of the quantum networking company Qunnect. But the products aren’t “that futuristic.”

Quantum is usually discussed as being able to one day break encryption and help discover new drugs . But Qunnect is betting that commercial quantum technologies for telecommunications networks could be ready sooner rather than later, according to newly released research .

Several focus on authentication, including a quantum position verification process that allows you to verify the position and time of a transaction, providing a physical receipt, Namazi told Defense One ahead of the Quantum World Congress event outside of Washington, D.C.

That could unveil the true source of a phishing call that is pretending to be your bank, for example.

Another example is quantum channel protection, where “entanglement networks can supplement post-quantum encryption to perfectly protect and monitor the communication networks to make sure no one is eavesdropping, no one is harvesting the data,” he said. It also protects against redirecting traffic on the network.

Qunnect counts In-Q-Tel, an investment firm focused on intelligence and national security needs, as one of its backers .

Background: DARPA has previously explored entanglement networks through its Quantum Augmented Networks effort, but has recently become more vocal about it. Following a White House executive order , the Pentagon released its quantum strategy, which focuses on network modernization, such as integrating secure commercial products and using quantum-resistant devices. It also named 2030 as the deadline for all Pentagon systems to support post-quantum cryptography.

That method of using entangled photons or particles, known as quantum entanglement , can also aid in precise time synchronization, which could be used for future telecommunications networks, including 6G . Precision would drill down to one trillionth of a second, “which you usually need for financial transactions, defensive systems—places that you really, really care about the security and the accuracy of your network,” Namazi said.

But there are challenges, particularly in making sure the technology is compatible with existing telecommunications infrastructure.

“These are hardware-based technologies. So, as much as we build everything to be compatible with the telecommunications infrastructure—which they are—this still means that you do need to go and add devices to different locations,” Namazi said. “And when it [comes] to devices that you use for your cybersecurity, you usually want them to be manufactured [domestically]…in very large quantities, in form factors that make sense. That's definitely still a challenge.”

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Bigs v. littles: quantum edition. Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Gilliland , president of GDIT, onstage at NDIA’s Women in Defense conference. When I asked her how GDIT was navigating a changing dense industrial base with startups getting more interest, in some cases, than primes, she said: “It is our job to go out and find these companies and to show them how we can bring them to the mission.”

Gilliland, who received a “Service to the Flag” award at the event, named the quantum company IonQ as an example.

“These are companies with great ideas. A lot of times they have no certification or accreditation, but they have really great ideas,” she said. “They have a lab at the University of Maryland…They have a big clock in there that’s ticking down to when they think Q-Day is,” the day quantum technology would be able to crack the encryption protecting some of the world’s most secure systems.

“They’re making great progress. And it is our job to bring the big brains that are in this quantum company to bear on programs.”

That includes an intelligence contract in which GDIT is using quantum computing to look through imagery and “detect the tiniest of changes…so we can see what the enemy is doing in ways that conventional computers can’t today,” she said.

Remember the Huawei ban ? The Pentagon and General Services developed processes and tools to comply with Section 889 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, including a search function for contracting officers to find out how companies “represent their compliance,” the Government Accountability Office wrote in a report released Tuesday. But they don’t routinely share those insights with the rest of the federal government.

“GSA and DOD do not broadly share their insights from implementing Section 889 prohibitions with other government agencies,” the report states. “For example, based on its experience with Section 889 prohibitions, GSA has plans to expand its use of customs data to identify the origin of goods, which GAO previously reported is difficult to do. By sharing information about their experience with current prohibitions, GSA and DOD could help other agencies address additional upcoming statutory prohibitions, such as on semiconductors. Sharing information could also help improve compliance.”

The GAO issued four recommendations, two for DOD: to share “subsidiary and affiliate information it collects with relevant federal agencies,” including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; and coordinate with federal agencies on Sec. 889 implementation.

Making moves + other news

AEVEX has a new jet-powered drone called Scepter.

Holland & Knight added Ike Blanton to its national security team. He previously led global investment and economic security out of the Pentagon’s acquisition and sustainment office.

John Roche, Accenture’s managing director for defense, joined the Professional Services Council’s board.

The Space Force awarded Impulse Space a $28 million contract for space domain awareness.

BAE Systems delivered two prototype combat vehicles to the Army. The “Infantry Fighting Vehicles” are based on the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle chassis and are designed to combat drone threats.

The Special Competitive Studies Project released its tech scorecard on biotechnology and the U.S. competition with China.

NEXT STORY: Defense Business Brief: Dispatch from AFA’s Air, Space, & Cyber 2026

国防商业简报

量子技术的优势可能会比你想象的更快普及——至少有一家公司正朝着这个目标努力。

“我们真心希望在未来一两年内将这些技术作为产品推出，供人们购买并集成到他们的网络安全协议中，”量子网络公司Qunnect的联合创始人兼首席科学官Mehdi Namazi表示。但这些产品并非“那么超前”。

人们通常认为量子技术有朝一日能够破解加密技术，并有助于发现新药。但根据最新发布的研究，Qunnect公司认为，用于电信网络的商用量子技术可能很快就会面世。

纳马齐在华盛顿特区郊外举行的量子世界大会前夕告诉Defense One，其中一些方案侧重于身份验证，包括量子位置验证流程，该流程可以验证交易的位置和时间，并提供实体收据。

例如，这可以揭露冒充您银行的钓鱼电话的真正来源。

另一个例子是量子信道保护，他表示，“纠缠网络可以补充后量子加密技术，完美地保护和监控通信网络，确保无人窃听，无人窃取数据。”它还能防止网络流量被重定向。

Qunnect 的投资方之一是专注于情报和国家安全需求的投资公司 In-Q-Tel。

背景：美国国防高级研究计划局（DARPA）此前曾通过其量子增强网络项目探索纠缠网络，但最近才开始更加积极地谈论这一领域。在白宫发布行政命令后，五角大楼发布了其量子战略，该战略侧重于网络现代化，例如集成安全的商用产品和使用抗量子器件。该战略还设定了2030年为五角大楼所有系统支持后量子密码技术的最后期限。

这种利用纠缠光子或粒子（称为量子纠缠）的方法还可以帮助实现精确的时间同步，这可用于未来的电信网络，包括 6G。纳马齐表示，精度可以达到万亿分之一秒，“这通常是金融交易、防御系统等对网络安全性和准确性要求极高的领域所需要的。”

但挑战依然存在，尤其是在确保该技术与现有电信基础设施兼容方面。

“这些都是基于硬件的技术。所以，尽管我们尽力使所有设备都与电信基础设施兼容——而它们也确实兼容——但这仍然意味着你需要将设备部署到不同的位置，”纳马齐说道。“而且，对于用于网络安全的设备，你通常希望它们是在国内生产的……并且能够大规模生产，外形尺寸也符合实际需求。这无疑仍然是一个挑战。”

欢迎来到《国防商业简报》，在这里我们将深入探讨五角大楼的采购内容、采购供应商以及采购原因。欢迎将您的建议、反馈和歌曲推荐发送至 lwilliams@defenseone.com。点击此处查看《国防商业简报》往期内容，并邀请您的朋友订阅！

大公司与小公司：量子版。上周，我有幸在NDIA女性国防大会上采访了GDIT总裁艾米·吉利兰。当我问她，面对瞬息万变、规模庞大的工业基础，初创企业在某些情况下甚至比大型企业更受关注时，GDIT是如何应对的。她回答说：“我们的工作就是去寻找这些公司，并向他们展示我们如何帮助他们完成使命。”

吉利兰在活动中获得了“为国旗服务”奖，他以量子公司 IonQ 为例。

“这些公司都拥有绝妙的想法。很多时候，他们没有获得任何认证或认可，但他们的想法确实很棒，”她说。“他们在马里兰大学有一个实验室……实验室里有一个大钟，倒计时显示他们认为的‘量子日’到来之日，”他们认为量子技术将能够破解保护世界上一些最安全系统的加密技术。

“他们取得了巨大进展。而我们的任务就是让这家量子公司里的顶尖人才为这些项目做出贡献。”

她说，其中包括一份情报合同，GDIT 正在利用量子计算来查看图像并“检测最微小的变化……这样我们就能以传统计算机目前无法做到的方式看到敌人的行动”。

还记得华为禁令吗？美国政府问责局（GAO）周二发布的一份报告指出，五角大楼和总务署制定了一系列流程和工具，以遵守2018财年《国防授权法案》第889条的规定，其中包括一项供合同官员搜索公司如何“证明其合规性”的功能。但他们并没有定期与联邦政府其他部门分享这些信息。

报告指出，“美国总务署（GSA）和国防部（DOD）并未广泛与其他政府机构分享其在执行第889条禁令方面的经验。例如，GSA基于其执行第889条禁令的经验，计划扩大海关数据的使用范围，以识别货物的原产地，而美国政府问责局（GAO）此前报告称，这项工作难度较大。通过分享其在执行现有禁令方面的经验，GSA和国防部可以帮助其他机构应对即将出台的其他法定禁令，例如针对半导体的禁令。信息共享还有助于提高合规性。”

美国政府问责局 (GAO) 提出了四项建议，其中两项针对国防部：一是与相关联邦机构（包括网络安全和基础设施安全局）共享“其收集的子公司和附属机构信息”；二是与联邦机构协调第 889 条款的实施。

最新动态 + 其他新闻

AEVEX公司推出了一款名为“Scepter”的新型喷气动力无人机。

霍兰德·奈特律师事务所将艾克·布兰顿招入其国家安全团队。此前，他曾在五角大楼采购与保障办公室负责全球投资和经济安全工作。

埃森哲国防业务董事总经理约翰·罗奇加入了专业服务委员会董事会。

美国太空部队授予 Impulse Space 公司一份价值 2800 万美元的太空领域感知合同。

英国航空航天系统公司（BAE Systems）向美国陆军交付了两辆原型战车。这些“步兵战车”基于装甲多用途车辆底盘，旨在应对无人机威胁。

特别竞争研究项目发布了其关于生物技术和美国与中国竞争的技术评分卡。

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