British MoD buys first quantum computer

2022: British MoD begins working with Orca Computing

In early June 2022, the British Ministry of Defense acquired the country's first quantum computer. The government agency will work with London-based Orca Computing to explore the possibilities of using quantum technologies in the defense sphere.

The use of quantum computing for the UK government was a landmark moment, according to Stephen Till of the Department of Defence and Science. Most computers process data in bits that have a binary value of either zero or one, whereas quantum computers use a two-state block to process data called a qubit. This can simultaneously represent numbers such as one or zero by a quantum mechanical process called superposition, allowing quantum computers to connect binary numbers and cope with uncertainty where conventional computers cannot.

British MoD buys first quantum computer

The head of the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technology at the University of Sussex, Professor Winfried Hensinger, says it will take time to fully realise the true potential of quantum computers. Hensinger added that the perspective of quantum computing and their research by the Ministry of Defense is still important due to the fact that quantum computing can become revolutionary in almost any sector of industry.

According to the information publication, BBC the prospects for quantum computing are that they will help solve problems that standard computers cannot cope with and there are many problems in the defense industry where optimization can play a huge and very important role. It's a very complex concept, and it works quite differently than a custom laptop or phone pocket or even giant supercomputers that can handle mind-blowing volumes in data a nanosecond. The promise of quantum computing is that calculations will help solve problems that standard computers cannot cope with.

The idea behind using quantum computers was initially to have the devices used in the fight against climate change, in the development of new drugs and improved artificial intelligence, and in the case of military affairs, potentially to support the military.^[1]

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