Quantum computing can help defend against multiple simultaneous missile launches, D-Wave says.

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Imagine a worst-case scenario: a massive missile attack on the homeland. This is not just one or two missiles; this is an all-out attack with hundreds of simultaneously-launched missiles, perhaps nuclear-tipped. Can existing missile defense systems intercept and destroy them? Perhaps, but according to quantum computing company D-Wave and its partners Anduril and Davidson Technologies, only a quantum-enabled targeting system will work best.

The companies recently simulated various missile attacks, using classical computers as well as D-Wave’s Advantage2 system, a 4,400 physical qubit quantum annealing machine designed to work well on optimization-type problems.

“Results demonstrated that while classical solvers performed effectively on smaller, less complex scenarios, the time to reach a solution increased significantly as problem size grew,” the partners say in a press release issued today. “By comparison, as problem complexity scaled, D-Wave’s Stride hybrid solver extended its performance lead over classical-only approaches, delivering at least 10x faster time-to-solution, a 9% to 12% improvement in threat mitigation, and the ability to intercept an additional 45–60 missiles in a 500-missile attack simulation.”

Optimization problems are best possible answer problems. There’s likely no perfect solution, but you want the best option. These are incredibly difficult problems to solve, because like the well-known traveling salesperson problem, difficulty increases exponentially with the number of variables: 10 required decisions means there are 1,024 possible solutions, but 50 means there’s a quadrillion possible solutions.

When 500 missiles are flying your way, most from different launch points, aiming at different targets with varying flight times, altitudes, and even speeds, intercepting them is not just about having the right missiles or lasers or electronic countermeasures: it’s about deciding how to strike, where, when, with what technology.

And doing that quickly.

This is an exceedingly hard computational problem, and it’s one that D-Wave, Anduril, and Davidson Technologies say works better with a quantum computer.

“Our collaboration with Anduril and Davidson marks an important milestone in applying quantum computing to U.S. national defense strategies,” D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz said in a statement. “Our initial work together shows that annealing quantum computing can be put to use today for mission-critical applications, enabling faster, more informed decision-making for complex problems.”

That claim, of course, has yet to be tested on the battlefield, or in third-party testing.

And having the quantum computing technology to almost instantaneously and accurately command a missile defense strategy is one thing. Integrating it into command and control systems as well as boots-on-the-ground or hulls-in-the-ocean firing platforms is quite another.

Still, it’s an interesting development for quantum computing technology.

In other news released today, D-Wave also announced that it is moving its corporate headquarters to Boca Raton, Florida from Palo Alto, while research and development facilities remain in Vancouver, Canada. Additionally, D-Wave announced a $20 million quantum computer sale to Florida Atlantic University, and a two-year, $10 million quantum computing as a service deal with an unnamed Fortune 100 company.

“This agreement marks a significant milestone in D-Wave’s annealing quantum computing enterprise adoption and impact,” Baratz said about that deal. “No other company in the world has production-grade quantum technology in the market today, and this agreement is inarguably one of the most significant endorsements of how our solutions stand to benefit the world’s leading companies.”

That may be true, but many others are working hard to bring their unique solutions to market. See also: