Submarines cannot rely entirely on GNSS for timing and navigation. Clock drift can degrade accuracy during prolonged operations in GPS-denied environments.
Infleqtion integrated its Tiqker optical atomic clock into the Royal Navy’s Excalibur testbed submarine, marking the first deployment of a quantum optical atomic clock on an underwater autonomous vehicle.
Underwater platforms need precise onboard timing to navigate, coordinate, and support critical systems without continuous access to external satellite signals.
First
Quantum clock on an underwater vehicle
Multiple
Dives completed during the trial
Tiqker supplied a steady onboard time reference intended to reduce the navigation drift that builds when submarines operate without GNSS.
Integration - Tiqker was installed on the Excalibur XLUAV testbed.
Reliability - The clock operated during multiple dives.
Next step - Further benchmarking against high-grade time standards will follow.
The trial confirmed Tiqker’s ability to operate reliably during multiple dives and validated its ruggedization for real-world naval deployment. It also established the feasibility of advanced quantum timing in challenging maritime conditions.
More stable local timing can help underwater platforms remain submerged, accurate, and hidden for longer periods. The same onboard reference can also support sonar, fire control, and secure communications.
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