Q-CTRL moves quantum magnetic navigation trials from air to sea

Q-CTRL is seeking to deploy the Ironstone Opal magnetic navigation system aboard as many platforms as possible. This image was taken from a 2 February 2026 press release. (Q-CTRL)

Quantum technology company Q-CTRL is testing its magnetic navigation (MagNav) system aboard maritime platforms in the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

CEO Michael Biercuk told Janes on 5 October that the trials marked the first use of Q-CTRL's MagNav system in the “true maritime domain”. The company did not specify the type of maritime platform involved, although Biercuk said it intends to deploy the system on “as many platforms as possible”.

The system provides an alternative source of position, navigation, and timing (PNT) that does not rely on a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). GNSS signals can be disrupted through jamming or spoofing in contested environments. MagNav is passive and does not rely on external radio-frequency signals that could be spoofed or jammed. Instead, it uses quantum sensors to measure geographically varying anomalies in the Earth's crustal magnetic field and compares them with magnetic-anomaly maps to determine the user's position.

Most magnetic-anomaly maps were compiled from airborne surveys, making their use for navigation at sea level or lower altitudes more difficult, Biercuk said. Q-CTRL is seeking to overcome these challenges through software and a small number of hardware components (approximately 1 kg altogether) installed aboard a vessel, he said. This combination is intended to allow the sensitive quantum sensors to operate without extensive physical stabilisation or bespoke installation, while filtering out irrelevant magnetic noise generated by the platform, including its electronic and propulsion systems, he added.