Florida State University will establish a campus-scale quantum communication testbed after securing $2.1 million in federal Community Project Funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Networking infrastructure vendor Cisco Systems, through its Outshift division, has released two software research prototypes targeting multi-node quantum network operations: the Cisco Quantum Network Controller and version 0.2.0 of its Network-Aware Quantum Compiler.

NATO’s new quantum roadmap sets priorities and deadlines for testing military applications, protecting communications and preparing allied forces to adopt quantum technologies.
Planned activities include quantum sensing sea trials in 2026 and 2027, initial military pilot assessments in 2027 and a quantum-resilient communications pilot linking NATO headquarters in Brussels and Mons.
The roadmap calls for quantum-resistant cryptography, common standards and workforce training, while making broader operational deployment dependent on technical progress and trial results.

SK Telecom and KISTI developed a digital twin technology to simulate and verify quantum cryptographic communication network conditions before deploying physical QKD equipment.The system links SKT’s Kubernetes-based quantum key management system with KISTI’s QKD simulator through an ETSI standard-compatible interface.The companies said the setup can simulate factors such as communication distance, optical loss and equipment characteristics while supporting interoperability with QKD systems from other organizations.

Cisco and KETS Quantum Security have integrated KETS’ chip-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology with Cisco IOS XR routing infrastructure in a joint demonstration.The integrated system combines KETS QKD with Cisco routers using MACsec to provide automated key exchange and encryption across existing Ethernet-based networks.

Classiq and Israel Natural Gas Lines (INGL) researched quantum optimization for natural gas transmission planning, including execution of a reduced problem on IonQ’s Forte-1 quantum processor.The hybrid quantum-classical workflow searched pressure configurations while accounting for supplier pressure, pipe characteristics, minimum customer pressure and other network constraints.Simulator testing identified a maximum-throughput valid operating point consistent with classical reference solutions, while Forte-1 produced physically valid candidate points close to the classical optimum.

BDC announced $1 billion in new allocations under its existing $6 billion Defence Platform to support Canadian defence and dual-use technology companies.The plan includes $500 million for defence-focused venture capital, growth equity and private equity funds, with priorities including AI, cybersecurity, space, quantum technologies and energy systems.BDC will add $200 million to StrongNorth, increasing the fund from $300 million to $500 million for early-stage Canadian companies developing defence and dual-use technologies.

European quantum leaders called for coordinated action to turn the region’s scientific expertise into industrial capacity, competitive companies and strategic strength.The proposed EU Quantum Act is expected to promote cooperation, market consolidation, supply-chain resilience and links with sectors such as semiconductors, photonics and cloud computing.Speakers identified fragmented investment, limited coordination and competition for skilled workers as major obstacles to building a unified European quantum market.

Infleqtion (NYSE: INFQ) has received a $20 million follow-on contract from NASA to advance the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPf) mission, led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The award brings total NASA funding for the space-based quantum gravity sensing program to $40 million, moving the mission into its next phase of hardware integration, sub-system fabrication, and microgravity ground testing.

A key rate of approximately 1.43 megabits per second was achieved through the first simultaneous operation of Continuous-Variable and Discrete-Variable Quantum Key Distribution systems on a shared optical channel. The joint operation utilised wavelength-division multiplexing with colleagues at Sorbonne University and Paris Saclay University in France. Data transmission succeeded across both seventy kilometers of optical fibre and a six hundred and twenty metre daylight free-space link without detectable performance reduction.