Indian Navy Partners With Raman Research Institute To Develop Secure Maritime Communications Using Quantum Technology

The Indian Navy has partnered with the Bengaluru-based Raman Research Institute (RRI) to develop secure maritime communications using quantum technology.

The RRI, which is an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), and the Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE), the R&D establishment of the Indian Navy, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a period of five years to work together on this project.

Under the agreement, RRI’s Quantum Information and Computing (QuIC) lab will lead the research efforts towards developing quantum key distribution techniques that could be used by the Indian Navy to secure free space communications.

RRI director Professor Tarun Souradeep, and Indian Navy's chief of material Vice Admiral Sandeep Naithani signed the MoU at a ceremony held in New Delhi recently.

"I am absolutely delighted that the Indian Science and Technology ecosystem has been opening borders in recent years that enable talented and world-class researchers in the academic research institutions to contribute to the growth of Science and Technology capabilities in strategic areas of national importance. Porosity of the perceived boundary between fundamental and applied sciences as well as Science and Technology, will bode well in the coming decades. RRI feels proud to partner with WESEE in cutting edge Science and Technology," Professor Souradeep said in a statement.

The QuIC lab of RRI has been at the forefront of the country’s research in the field of secure quantum communication.

QuIC's major achievements include the "development of an end-to-end simulation toolkit named “qkdSim”, ensuring safety in communication platforms, establishing secure communication between two buildings, and, more recently, between a stationary source and a mobile receiver," the Ministry of Science and Technology said in a release on Thursday

According to the ministry, the QuIC lab also happens to be India’s first laboratory to propose and implement a wide range of applications using single and entangled photons, particularly towards establishing secure communications in strategic areas like banking, defence, and cybersecurity.

Professor Urbasi Sinha, Group Head, QuIC lab, said, “This is a great opportunity to use indigenously developed science and technology knowledge to serve our nation. We are excited about the collaboration and believe that with our expertise in the domain of secure quantum communications, we will be able to help foster cutting-edge research towards the identification of potential maritime use-cases for the Indian Navy".