US Air Force enters the quantum logistics era with $2.5M software deal

This first-of-its-kind partnership comes as part of the U.S. Air Force’s commitment to expand its quantum computing operations.

The United States Air Force recently inked its first-ever deal for operational-level quantum computing software, marking a new era in U.S. military logistics.

Purdue spinout Quantum Research Science (QRS) is the contract recipient, earning $2.5 million to build and support quantum computing software capable of handling the Air Force’s global logistics.

Classical logistics

Currently, U.S. military forces organize and manage supply operations the old-fashioned way: using classical binary computers. But, when compared to their futuristic quantum counterparts, binary computers are an ill fit for the problem.

This is because binary computers can only handle so many variables at a time before they become overwhelmed. Logistics at the scale of the U.S. Air Force’s needs tax the abilities of classical computers.

QRS CEO Ethan Krimins described the capabilities of binary systems as a bit of a crapshoot:

“At best, a supply chain forecast is an educated guess. At worst, it is a wild guess.”

Quantum logistics

Quantum computers, on the other hand, have demonstrated the potential for advantage over classical computers. This is because, unlike traditional computers using binary bits — essentially on/off switches — quantum computers use qubits. These are somewhat analogous to bits; except they can be in more than one state.

Qubits can be on or off, like regular bits, but they can also exist in superposition where they’re both on and off at the same time. Essentially, this allows quantum computers to work with more variables at the same time both speeding up the process and improving accuracy.

A press release on the Purdue University website said QRS’ quantum software demonstrated a 28% speedup over currently available software running on binary computers.

According to information available on QRS’ website, the company has teamed up with Quantinuum, formerly Honeywell, to, presumably, run the former’s software on the latter’s hardware.

Related: JPMorgan Chase leads $500M funding round for Honeywell/Cambridge quantum unicorn