S 1346119th CongressIn Committee

Defense Quantum Acceleration Act of 2025

Introduced: Apr 8, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

Defense Quantum Acceleration Act of 2025 would push the Department of Defense to move more quickly to adopt quantum information science (QIS) technologies. It creates a centralized leadership and coordination structure, led by a newly designated Principal Quantum Advisor, to identify high-value QIS use cases, develop transition plans from research to military use, and oversee prototyping and fielding. The bill also establishes a five-year strategic plan and a national Defense QIS joint center of excellence to accelerate technology transition, workforce development, and industry-university collaboration. It aims to align U.S. DoD efforts with allied partners (notably through AUKUS and multilateral NATO conversations) and to strengthen the domestic QIS supply chain. A formal budget review process is included to ensure that proposed QIS budgets are adequate and aligned with national defense objectives, and a security framework is included for commercially developed quantum capabilities. In short, the act would create new leadership, funding, and collaboration mechanisms to fast-track QIS capabilities—such as quantum sensing, computing, communications, and simulation—into operational defense use, while coordinating with allies and building the domestic quantum workforce and industrial base.

Key Points

1Establishment of Joint Quantum Information Science Defense Transition Activities and a Principal Quantum Advisor
2- Creates a senior DoD official responsible for coordinating accelerated demonstration, transition, and deployment of QIS technologies across the military.
3- The Advisor leads development and execution of transition plans, and coordinates with the Armed Forces, combatant commands, industry, academia, and other federal partners.
4Identification, evaluation, and prototyping of QIS use cases
5- The Advisor identifies operational challenges that QIS could address, assesses relative effectiveness vs. non-quantum solutions, and evaluates readiness levels (technology and manufacturing).
6- For solutions with high readiness (level 5+), prototyping and evaluation at scale in relevant environments must begin by the end of FY 2025. For lower readiness (level 4 or below), Congress funding plans would be submitted for a five-year period.
7Five-year Strategic Plan for QIS in the DoD
8- The plan covers ongoing evaluation, development, and adoption of QIS solutions, a roadmap for a fault-tolerant, utility-scale quantum computer, resource allocation, and identifying defense-critical QIS technologies that are not likely to be pursued commercially.
9- Includes plans to strengthen the QIS supply chain and assess potential single points of failure among critical components and suppliers.
10National Defense QIS Adoption Acceleration Testbed (Center) and related workforce efforts
11- Establishes a Center of Excellence, run by DoD with participation from DoD labs, a National Laboratory, university-affiliated centers, and QIS companies.
12- Center activities include prototyping of QIS technologies (prioritizing positioning, navigation, timing, and quantum sensors at TRL 6+), workforce development, outreach, and accelerating transition to operations.
13- Authorized funding of $20 million per year from FY2025–2029.
14Allied and multilateral engagement
15- Requires alignment with AUKUS activities and coordination of research, development, and procurement to accelerate opportunities where UK and Australia pursue similar QIS technologies.
16- Mandates recurring multilateral meetings on quantum technology with US allies (AUKUS partners and NATO members) to share information and plan collaboratively.
17Industry and academia engagement
18- Involves inclusion of the Principal Advisor in relevant NQI (National Quantum Initiative) consortium activities and regular outreach with industry and academia to identify and scale near-term QIS solutions.
19- Focuses on educating the defense sector about national-security QIS use cases, helping to build supply chains, and facilitating commercialization of DoD-developed QIS solutions.
20Commercial security strategy and risk management
21- Requires a security strategy for commercially developed capabilities based on a DARPA-like model (Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing), addressing risk in commercially sourced or developed QIS tech.
22Centered on planning, budgeting, and accountability
23- Establishes a budget review process where DoD components must submit QIS budgets to the Principal Quantum Advisor for review before final submission, with annual reporting to Congress on adequacy and actions to address shortfalls.
24- Mandates a one-year deadline for a Congress-facing plan and a yearly budget-reporting cycle.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Department of Defense leadership and staff, including the Armed Forces and unified combatant commands.- DoD laboratories, national labs, and university-affiliated research centers involved in QIS.- DoD contractors and defense industry partners working on quantum technologies.- DoD-funded researchers, faculty, and students engaged in quantum information science.Secondary group/area affected- Allies and partners participating in AUKUS and NATO discussions, benefiting from coordinated R&D and procurement planning.- The broader U.S. quantum technology ecosystem, including industry and academia, through increased coordination, funding opportunities, and alignment with defense needs.Additional impacts- Workforce development and training across military academies, ROTC programs, and other DoD education pipelines to grow a quantum-ready workforce.- Strengthening of the domestic QIS supply chain and resilience against foreign dependency or single points of failure.- Potential acceleration of commercial QIS capabilities with defense applications, plus enhanced opportunities for public-private partnerships and international collaboration.Quantum information science (QIS) includes using quantum physics for storing, transmitting, processing, or measuring information. It covers areas such as quantum sensing (advanced navigation and timing, sensing undersea/underground, quantum imaging), quantum computing (various computing paradigms and machine learning), quantum communications and networks, and quantum-enabled modeling and simulation.Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and manufacturing readiness levels are used to gauge how close a technology is to military deployment, guiding prototype, testing, and funding decisions.

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