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Defence Research And Development Organisation

India Achieves Major Breakthrough in Quantum Communication with One-Kilometer Entanglement Test

Together with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has proven quantum entanglement-based free-space secure communication, marking a significant advancement for India’s technical sovereignty. This historic accomplishment marks India’s firm entry into a new quantum era of secure communication and has been heralded by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as a “game-changer” in future conflict.

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The IIT Delhi campus’s DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence carefully conducted the successful trial. These DIA-CoEs are essential to DRDO’s overall plan to promote the development of advanced military technologies. They are particularly created by DRDO in India’s top universities, such as the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and other Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), to serve as essential research hubs. Their main responsibility is to support close partnerships between government, industry, and university in order to develop advanced defence technology. This cooperative approach guarantees the efficient use of the nation’s intellectual and scientific strengths for strategic technology breakthroughs that are essential to national security. These DIA-CoEs are currently spread throughout 15 prestigious universities across the nation.

Secure quantum communication was successfully established over a more than one-kilometer free-space link during the experiment. This specific test component is extremely important since it does away with the direct dependence on expensive and sometimes disruptive fiber-optic connections. This helps create exceptionally secure communication networks, especially in remote or urban places where deploying new physical equipment is expensive and logistically complex. By showing that safe airborne data transmission is possible, the research team has enabled highly secure, real-time data transfer in a range of operational settings.

The scope of future secure communication networks could be greatly expanded by this effective proof-of-concept, which has the inherent capacity to scale to even greater distances or be easily modified for mobile, aerial, or even satellite-based communication systems.

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The experiment demonstrated strong and remarkable performance metrics from a technical standpoint. It maintained a very low quantum bit error rate, less than 7%, while achieving a secure key rate of about 240 bits per second. This degree of accuracy and speed is not only theoretical; it paves the way for real-time applications in long-distance Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and quantum cybersecurity.

The basic working principle of the system makes use of quantum entanglement, a deep phenomena in quantum mechanics where two particles maintain an intrinsic correlation despite their spatial separation. This particular approach, known as entanglement-assisted quantum key distribution (QKD), offers more robust security assurances by nature than conventional encryption methods. This method’s distinguishing feature is that any effort by an eavesdropper to measure or intercept the communication causes observable changes in the sensitive quantum state, thereby warning users of a possible security breach.

Crucially, this strong security feature offers a major and crucial enhancement over traditional encryption techniques, which frequently rely on computational complexity for their security. It also remains stable and dependable even in the event that hardware components are malfunctioning or unintentionally compromised.

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The Directorate of Futuristic Technology Management (DFTM) formally approved the strategic project, “Design and development of photonic technologies for free space QKD,” which served as the foundation for this ground-breaking endeavour. A key component of Defence Research and Development Organisation, DFTM is in charge of developing cutting-edge, forward-thinking defence technology.

Professor Bhaskar Kanseri’s research team at IIT Delhi painstakingly executed the successful demonstration, which is evidence of the top-notch academic expertise included into DRDO’s projects. In addition to notable academic leaders and well-known scientists from India’s larger quantum research community, a distinguished delegation of top officials from DRDO, including the DG (MED, COS & CS), Director SAG, and Director DFTM, attended the event.

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This historic achievement has significant ramifications for India’s future security and technological position and was primarily made possible by DRDO’s tenacious and strategic vision. It immediately and thoroughly improves national security by fortifying the country’s readiness for secure information transfer, a capability considered particularly important for future battlefield communications. Indian officials have consistently stressed the dual-use capabilities of quantum technology, demonstrating its benefits beyond vital areas like cybersecurity and defence. They might also boost India’s telecommunications and infrastructure, making it a worldwide quantum powerhouse.

This breakthrough also marks a significant step towards creating a quantum internet. According to this long-term vision, communication and data transport will be revolutionised globally by a securely interconnected global network supported by the indestructible laws of quantum physics. In keeping with India’s larger strategic goals, the development is also acknowledged as a “critical step towards national security and technological sovereignty.”

This latest success in free-space quantum communication is not a singular victory; rather, it is a key component of DRDO’s steady and purposefully gradual advancement in the field of quantum communication. The Ministry of Defence has documented a number of significant earlier turning points that demonstrate this methodical approach:

• Working with Professor Kanseri’s dedicated team, Defence Research and Development Organisation scientists established India’s first intercity quantum link over subterranean fibre in 2022. By connecting Vindhyachal and Prayagraj, this revolutionary initiative proved quantum communication over fibre infrastructure.
• In 2024, the same productive research team distributed quantum keys over 100 km of telecom-grade optical fibre. This showed the huge potential of quantum-secured communications when paired with present telecoms infrastructure.

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Together with the most recent free-space test, these earlier achievements clearly demonstrate DRDO’s and its cooperative partners’ planned, gradual, and all-encompassing strategy to creating reliable, adaptable, and resilient quantum communication capabilities. Defence Research and Development Organisation is methodically establishing the foundation for a future in which secure communication is pervasive and impenetrable by addressing both fiber-based and free-space communication issues.

The highest levels of India’s defence and science establishment have generally agreed that this discovery is extremely significant. India has firmly “entered into a new quantum era of secure communication which will be a game changer in future warfare,” as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh swiftly expressed his sincere greetings to DRDO and IIT-Delhi.

IIT Delhi Director Prof. Rangan Banerjee and DRDO Chairman Dr. Samir V. Kamat praised a “critical step towards national security and technological sovereignty” with strategic importance and national pride. The Indian government and defence sector stress quantum technology’s strategic importance in their joint pronouncements, with DRDO leading these cutting-edge technological efforts.

India achieved a major milestone when DRDO and IIT Delhi demonstrated free-space quantum secure communication over a distance. It strengthens the country’s burgeoning quantum technology capabilities and lays the groundwork for unrivalled cybersecurity in future defence scenarios and across the country’s infrastructure. As DRDO strategically expands its DIA-CoEs, which currently include 15 top academic institutions, India is well-positioned to lead quantum innovation, securing its digital future and boosting its strategic prowess abroad.

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