US President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders to push the US forward in quantum tech in a bid to prepare government systems against future cybersecurity risks.
The first EO is to establish a coordinated national effort to "develop the first ever quantum computer powerful enough to initiate the era of quantum-enabled scientific discovery and accelerate quantum capabilities for commercial applications."
The Departments of Energy, War, Commerce, and the Intelligence Community, industry and research leaders are all set to be involved as the country seeks to press on with its quantum plans.
Trump signs executive order to accelerate quantum computing plans
Among the benefits Trump envisions coming from future quantum computers are a number of spatial awareness improvements, including navigation through military environments, detecting submarines, underground structures and other hidden infrastructure, and improving battlefield awareness.
Trump's second EO focuses on the nationwide "nationwide migration to post-quantum cryptography," coordinated between the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the National Cyber Director.
The White House warned that quantum developments threaten the security of government networks, banks, healthcare, military systems and other critical infrastructure, ordering a pilot scheme to have been completed by the end of 2027. Some of the earliest migrations are set to have happened by 2030-2031, the administration added.
Quantum also promises some positive impacts spanning manufacturing, drug discovery, energy and agriculture, with the President seeing earlier investment in quantum giving the nation a competitive advantage
