On November 28, 2023, NATO Foreign Ministers approved the Alliance’s first-ever Quantum Technologies Strategy. The strategy set out a vision for a “quantum-ready Alliance” and covered applications in sensing, imaging, positioning, navigation and timing, communications, computing, modeling, simulation, and cryptography.
According to NATO’s announcement, the strategy outlined how quantum can be applied to defense and security and how the Alliance should “upgrade and secure data communications using quantum resistant cryptography.” Among its desired outcomes was the transition of NATO’s cryptographic systems to quantum-safe cryptography.
A public summary of the strategy was released on January 17, 2024. It described the establishment of a Transatlantic Quantum Community to engage government, industry, and academia, and noted the roles of DIANA and the NATO Innovation Fund in supporting the Allied quantum ecosystem. At the time, 22 Allies were participating in NATO’s quantum community, and six of the 44 companies selected for DIANA’s first cohort specialized in quantum technologies.