Insider Brief
- A new executive order directs a comprehensive federal strategy to accelerate quantum technology development while strengthening national security protections and commercialization efforts.
- It establishes new initiatives including a federally supported quantum computer program, performance benchmarking center, and expanded counterintelligence and workforce development measures.
- The order integrates quantum computing, sensing, networking, supply chains and international coordination into a unified policy framework tied to economic and security priorities.
- Photo by Sean Foster on Unsplash
As expected and reported earlier, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to accelerate quantum technology while expanding protections against foreign espionage, a move that puts the emerging field more firmly inside U.S. economic and national security policy.
The order — labeled Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation — calls for a new national quantum strategy, a federal push to develop a powerful quantum computer for scientific research, new work on quantum sensors and networks, tighter supply-chain planning, stronger counterintelligence protections and a broader effort to recruit and retain quantum workers.
The directive treats quantum information science and technology as a strategic industry that could shape computing, sensing, communications and encryption in the years ahead.
Quantum technology uses the behavior of matter and energy at very small scales to process information, measure physical signals or transmit data in ways that are not possible with standard systems. The field is still young and many machines remain experimental, but governments and companies are racing to turn the science into useful tools for national defense, drug discovery, materials research, finance, navigation and cybersecurity.
The order states that the U.S. should maintain a technical edge in quantum technology and build a trusted domestic ecosystem across research, manufacturing, commercialization and application. It also says the U.S. must work with allies to keep adversaries from using quantum advances against American national security interests.
The order gives the assistant to the president for science and technology 180 days to update the National Quantum Strategy, working with the secretaries of War, Commerce and Energy, the director of national intelligence and the National Science Foundation. Agencies will then have 30 days after publication of that strategy to report how they are aligning their programs and policies with it.
The move follows the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act, which Trump signed during his first term. That law helped organize federal quantum research across agencies. Some key provisions lapsed in 2023, and Congress has been considering reauthorization.
A Federal Quantum Computer
The order creates a new effort called the Quantum Computer for Application Development and Discovery Science, or QC-ADDS. The effort is meant to develop a quantum computer large enough to begin a period of quantum-enabled scientific discovery.
The order says the government intends to deliver at least one such machine to a Department of Energy facility and, where possible, make it available to the scientific community. Zooming out, this provision gives the federal government a more direct role in shaping the next stage of quantum computing. The Energy Department already runs national laboratories and some of the world’s leading supercomputing centers. Hosting a quantum computer at an Energy facility could give researchers a shared test bed for applications that may be beyond the reach of classical computers.
The order gives the Energy Department 90 days to identify the technical specifications needed for a QC-ADDS system to perform major scientific applications that are on a path toward economically significant uses and beyond current classical computing capabilities. A public summary is to be released when appropriate.
Within 180 days, the Energy Department must explore private-sector partnership models to assess the cost, scope and timeline for delivering at least one QC-ADDS machine. The Commerce Department must develop a plan that could include advance market commitments to encourage commercial quantum companies to contribute to the effort.
Advance market commitments are agreements that can signal government demand for a technology before the market is fully mature. Such tools can help companies justify investment in expensive research, manufacturing or scale-up work.
The order also directs the secretary of War to establish or designate activities and programs to develop tools and capabilities for national security uses of quantum computing. That could include a dedicated center.
Benchmarking the Machines
The order also tackles how to measure progress in quantum computing, which has become a significant challenge.
Quantum computers can be hard to compare and some of the measures may or may not be helpful. For example, a larger number of qubits — which are quantum versions of the classical bits — does not always mean a better machine. Error rates, control systems, software, speed and how long qubits remain stable all matter. The field has lacked simple public measures that capture whether a system can solve useful problems better than a conventional computer.
To address that gap, the Energy Department, in consultation with the War and Commerce departments, must create a national center within 180 days to develop tools for assessing the performance of quantum computing systems.
The order also asks federal officials to improve information-sharing between agencies so the government can better assess commercial quantum capabilities. That could help officials judge which systems are ready for scientific, industrial or national security use and which remain mainly experimental.
The director of national intelligence and the secretary of War must also identify the national security implications of increasingly powerful commercial quantum computers. The order specifically includes implications for migration to post-quantum cryptography.
Post-quantum cryptography refers to new encryption systems designed to resist attacks from future quantum computers. The risk is tied to what experts often call Q-day, the point at which a quantum computer could break widely used public-key encryption. Those encryption methods help protect government secrets, banking systems, corporate networks and personal data.
There is no firm date for Q-day. Many experts place the risk in the 2030s, though estimates vary. The concern is that adversaries may collect encrypted data now and store it until future quantum computers can read it. That threat is known as harvest now, decrypt later.
Sensors, Networks and Supply Chains
The order does not limit the federal quantum push to computing, also giving the secretary of War 60 days to identify at least three next-generation quantum sensor projects to prioritize, with a goal of fielding them by Sept. 30, 2028. Quantum sensors can measure small changes in time, gravity, magnetic fields or radio signals. They could support navigation, communications, surveillance, imaging and defense missions.
The order also requires five-year plans for quantum sensing and networking. Commerce must focus on commercial readiness, sensor manufacturing and quantum-enhanced timing. Energy must plan for using quantum sensing and imaging to measure complex systems and for using quantum networking to support distributed quantum computing. NSF must focus on basic research and manufacturing science. NASA must plan for civilian quantum sensing and networking in space.
Quantum networks could one day connect quantum devices or transmit information in ways that improve security or enable distributed computing. The technology remains early, but it is a major area of research in the U.S., Europe and China.
The order also directs Commerce, Energy and other agencies to develop a plan to strengthen quantum supply chains. That includes assessing supply-chain risks, encouraging private-sector adoption of standards and supporting research paths that remove manufacturing barriers.
Quantum systems depend on specialized components, including lasers, cryogenic systems, vacuum equipment, control electronics, photonics, microwave systems, advanced materials and precision manufacturing tools. Weaknesses in those supply chains could slow U.S. development or create security risks.
Within 120 days, the War, Commerce and Energy departments and NSF must develop a plan to encourage private-sector work on quantum-enabling component technologies in the U.S. The order says that effort could use prize challenges or advance market commitments.
Within 180 days, the War Department must take steps to expand domestic access to department-sponsored quantum foundry resources and improve access to critical supply chains. NSF must also take steps to issue grants for QIST user facilities through the National Quantum and Nanotechnology Infrastructure program.
Counterintelligence and Workforce
The order formalizes a stronger security posture around quantum research.
It directs the assistant to the president for science and technology and the assistant to the president for national security affairs to coordinate with agencies on security controls that protect critical information and national security interests without unnecessarily slowing U.S. innovation.
The FBI director, working with State, War, Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security, the intelligence community and the National Security Agency, must propose staffing requirements to expand the Quantum Information Science and Technology Counterintelligence Protection Team.
That team is expected to improve protections against adversarial threats to the quantum ecosystem, including cybersecurity threats. It is also tasked with coordinating public messaging, outreach and threat-sharing with federal, industry and academic quantum research groups.
The provision reflects growing concern that foreign governments could target U.S. quantum research through hacking, insider recruitment, talent programs, supplier access, investment channels or university partnerships. Quantum research often sits in an open academic environment while also having clear military, intelligence and economic value.
The order also calls for a government-wide quantum recruitment and retention strategy within 90 days. The Office of Personnel Management must develop that strategy with science, budget, defense, commerce, energy, intelligence and NSF officials. The order says the plan may include special pay rates and higher recruitment and retention incentives.
The Labor Department must also prioritize quantum-related industry needs in workforce training efforts and apprenticeships. Labor and NSF must develop a way to track quantum labor statistics, including a definition for quantum-relevant occupations and related skills and credentials.
Within 180 days, NSF must take steps to create a network of National QIST Workforce Development Institutes. The goal is to expand training and coordinate efforts across federal, state and local agencies.
The workforce provisions address a central problem for the sector. Quantum companies and labs need physicists, engineers, materials scientists, software developers, technicians and manufacturing specialists. Many roles require hands-on training with systems that are still scarce and expensive.
The order also places quantum technology inside U.S. foreign policy directing State and Commerce departments to align international engagement to help U.S. quantum companies access strategic markets and capital from like-minded countries. They must also work to maintain trusted supply chains and prevent countries of concern from acquiring critical quantum-enabling technologies.
The order calls for coordination with allies on research security, export controls and technology protection. It also calls for continued research collaboration and movement of people and ideas across trusted countries in support of U.S. industry.
Commerce, working with the U.S. trade representative, must identify foreign trade barriers and other policies that limit the competitiveness of American quantum companies. Within 120 days, the State Department must recommend how to align existing bilateral and multilateral efforts, including Pax Silica, with the priorities of the order.
Read the complete executive order here.
