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Killinchu — Quantum Sensing Roadmap (Honest Scope)
Vertical: killinchu (Andean drone-intelligence counter-UAS rule engine) Doctrine: v11 LOCKED (749/14/163) · License: Apache-2.0 Author: Yachay <yachay@szlholdings.dev> Status: Forward-looking roadmap. Not a current capability.
1. Honest scope
Quantum sensing is research-grade. SZL killinchu's production sensing is classical: Remote-ID, ADS-B, and MAVLink ingest feed the Yuyay-13 gate and the Wire D signing chain. Quantum sensing is a 2027+ roadmap item dependent on hardware partnerships. Nothing below is deployed in killinchu today.
The most mature near-term quantum-sensing application relevant to the air domain is GPS-denied navigation via quantum magnetometry — not "quantum radar." Quantum radar remains a research topic with no field-deployed system.
2. Technology landscape (with honest maturity)
| Technology | Maturity | Counter-UAS relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Quantum magnetometers (NV-diamond, atomic-vapor / SERF) | Lab → early field trials | GPS-denied PNT for interceptor/sensor platforms; magnetic-anomaly detection |
| Quantum radar (quantum illumination) | Research only — no fielded system | Theoretical low-power stealth detection; not on roadmap |
| Quantum LiDAR / single-photon detection | Research + early photonics | Long-range low-signature ranging |
| Quantum inertial / gravimetry | Early field trials | Drift-free inertial navigation in GPS-denied ops |
NV-center magnetometers are durable, compact, and being tested for GPS-denied navigation in aircraft and drones, comparing measured crustal magnetic fields to magnetic maps (NIST, "Sensors for a Magnetic World").
3. Active research labs (5)
- DARPA — Robust Quantum Sensors (RoQS) and QuSeN programs, moving quantum sensors onto defense platforms (DARPA, "Quantum sensors out of the lab," 2025; DARPA QuSeN).
- AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory) — quantum sensing / PNT for GPS-denied air operations.
- DTRA (Defense Threat Reduction Agency) — quantum sensing for threat-detection use cases.
- NIST — chip-scale atomic magnetometers (John Kitching group) and the Quantum Information Science program (NIST chip-scale atomic magnetometers).
- NASA JPL — optically-pumped solid-state quantum magnetometers (JPL postdoc program PDF).
4. Commercial firms (3)
- Q-CTRL — field-validated quantum-assured navigation (Ironstone Opal); awarded DARPA RoQS contracts (~$24.4M, 2025) (Q-CTRL quantum sensing).
- Quantum Brilliance — navigation-grade NV-diamond quantum magnetometers targeting UAS/drones and autonomous platforms (Quantum Brilliance quantum sensing).
- Zapata-class quantum software / sensing integrators — quantum software and analytics partners for sensor-data processing (representative of the commercial integration layer).
5. The SZL architectural hook
Killinchu's sensor input is decoupled from the governance core through a
SensorAdapter interface:
[ SensorAdapter ] → [ Yuyay-13 gate ] → [ Wire D DSSE signing ] → [ Khipu chain ]
(classical today) (unchanged) (unchanged) (unchanged)
When quantum sensing matures, killinchu drops in a new SensorAdapter (e.g.,
an NV-diamond magnetometer feed for GPS-denied geolocation) and the Yuyay-13
gate and Wire D signing chain stay unchanged. Sensor evolution does not touch
the provenance core; every quantum-derived measurement is still gated, signed,
and chained exactly like a classical Remote-ID frame.
6. Disclaimers
- Quantum radar exists in research only; no field-deployed system; not on the SZL roadmap.
- Quantum magnetometry for GPS-denied navigation is the most credible near-term item but is still in field-trial stage at partners like Q-CTRL.
- All adoption is partnership-dependent and targeted no earlier than 2027.
- Citing these labs/firms is not a claim of partnership; they are referenced as the credible research/commercial landscape.
Doctrine v11 LOCKED (749/14/163) · Apache-2.0 · Signed-off-by: Yachay <yachay@szlholdings.dev>