Special Report: Indian firm advances quantum communications for military networks

QNu Labs' Armos quantum key distribution (QKD) system. (QNu Labs)

Bangalore-based firm QNu Labs has been supporting the Indian government's efforts to enhance quantum communications, including for defence applications, using its Armos quantum key distribution (QKD) platform.

Speaking to Janes, Sunil Gupta, CEO and co-founder of QNu Labs, and Sudiptaa Paul Choudhury, the company's chief marketing officer, outlined the technologies being developed and applied to strengthen quantum communications for the Indian Armed Forces, as well as plans to sustain growth in these capabilities.

QNu Labs has previously been contracted to supply different configurations of Armos to the Indian Navy and the Indian Army. The company is also using Armos to establish an extended quantum communications network intended to provide secure communications capabilities for the armed forces.

In April, India's Ministry of Science & Technology announced that QNu Labs had developed and demonstrated a 1,000 km quantum communication network under the government's National Quantum Mission (NQM), which aims, among other quantum objectives, to establish a QKD network spanning more than 2,000 km by 2031.

Quantum network

Gupta said the 1,000 km quantum communication network demonstrated under the NQM was achieved using the Armos platform.

He added that the platform used in the demonstration was independently validated and certified by the Ministry of Communications' Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), and Arizona-based network testing company VIAVI Solutions using its MAP-300 optical test and measurement system.

“Under controlled conditions, the system demonstrated secure key generation over distances of up to 200 km of standard telecom fibre at 40 dB loss on the quantum channel, without requiring signal amplification, while consistently maintaining quantum bit error rates of below 4%, well within safe operating thresholds,” Gupta said.