Top secret lab is developing UK's first quantum clock to help the British military boost intelligence
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A top secret lab is developing a super-precise 'quantum clock' that could revolutionize British intelligence. This super-accurate timekeeping device, to be rolled out by 2029, will allow more precise navigation and surveillance on Royal Navy ships and RAF planes.
![[To be rolled out by 2029, the quantum clock will allow more precise navigation and surveillance on Royal Navy ships and RAF planes. Pictured, Royal Navy Duke class Type 23 anti-submarine frigate HMS Portland]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/03/11/93705985-14246595-image-m-42_1735902644534.jpg)
It will also 'enhance the accuracy of advanced weapons' like guided missiles and give British computer boffins the edge over online adversaries like cyber criminals. The clock's precision will be so refined that it will lose less than one second over billions of years, allowing scientists to measure time at an unprecedented scale.
![[Atomic clocks use certain resonance frequencies of atoms to keep time with extreme accuracy. Pictured, atomic clock at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/03/10/93703873-14246595-Pictured_atomic_clock_at_the_University_of_Colorado_Boulder_in_t-m-29_1735898953104.jpg)
It is the first device of its kind to be built in the UK and will be deployable on military operations in the next five years, according to Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). 'This first trial of advanced atomic clock represents a significant achievement in the UK's quantum technology capabilities,' said DSTL chief executive Paul Hollinshead.
![[Quantum clocks (left) are considered a type of atomic clock (right) - although the former is more accurate than the latter]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/03/10/93705601-14246595-Back_in_2010_the_University_of_Colorado_at_Boulder_developed_a_q-a-38_1735901313204.jpg)
'The data gathered will not only shape future defence effort but is also a signal to industry and academia that we are serious about exploring quantum technologies for secure and resilient operational advantage.'. Quantum clocks use quantum mechanics – the physics of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic scale – to keep time with unprecedented accuracy by measuring energy fluctuations within atoms.
![[Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is defined by sophisticated, ultra-precise 'atomic clocks' around the world, which tick precisely and continuously. Experts are pictured here with the NIST-F2 atomic clock in the US]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/03/10/82957773-14246595-Coordinated_Universal_Time_UTC_is_defined_by_sophisticated_ultra-a-30_1735898983317.jpg)
