This Unhackable Quantum Navigation System Is The Size Of A Loaf Of Bread

InnovationConsumer TechThis Unhackable Quantum Navigation System Is The Size Of A Loaf Of BreadByJohn Koetsier,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Journalist, analyst, author, podcaster.Follow AuthorApr 21, 2026, 10:28pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Quantum navigation is increasingly an important technology for airplanes, ships, and military applications.Q-CTRL$300 of hardware, a laptop running freely available open source software, and a little bit of know-how is all you need to hack GPS in a city or region. That’s why GPS is increasingly unreliable in conflict zones around the world, and why the world’s militaries, airlines, and shipping companies are looking for alternatives.Enter quantum navigation.Most of the time when we think of quantum, we think of movie silliness (descending to the “”quantum realm” with AntMan) or quantum computing, an unimaginably complex way of generating many answers from a single question. But there’s also quantum navigation. Which, in a very short period of time has gone from science fiction to science fact."Roughly 14 months ago, none of this technology existed," Michael Biercuk, founder and CEO of Q-CTRL, told me on the TechFirst podcast. “It had not been validated; it had not been tested yet.”Today it’s shipping. Q-CTRL is an Australian quantum startup that has just landed its first customers for quantum navigation systems about the size of a loaf of bread. The company hasn’t released the names of those customers, but AirBus is a public partner of the company, and national defense agencies have a vested interest in accurate navigation in conflict zones.MORE FOR YOUCompetitors like SandboxAQ and SBQuantum are also busy. Recently the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit expanded its Transition of Quantum Sensing program to integrate SandboxAQ’s AQNav for autonomous U.S. military platforms....