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In a future all-out war, if the first wave of attacks is launched against the other side, which targets will be selected as the targets?
Not a military base of the opposing side, not a transport hub, but a multitude of satellites roaming outer space. Satellites are the eyes of modern troops, and once they lose their positioning and navigation systems, they are basically in a situation of being passively beaten.
Although the technology of directly attacking each other's satellites has so far only been mastered by a few countries, it is enough to achieve a strategic balance in the world, and it is easy for major powers to take such extreme measures.
But what if there are countries that have mastered the technology to accurately locate and navigate without satellites?
The U.S. Navy claims that it has developed a device called a "continuous 3D cooled atomic beam interferometer" that can navigate without the use of GPS.
This device is a new type of inertial navigation tool with quantum technology, and the weapons equipped with this tool can achieve autonomous navigation without the help of satellite systems.
To understand the working principle and characteristics of this device, it is necessary to start with inertial navigation.
Inertial navigation is an autonomous navigation system that uses inertial sensitive devices, reference direction and initial position information to determine the position, direction and velocity of an object in inertial space.
To put it simply, under the premise of knowing the initial velocity and position of the object, the acceleration (i.e., inertia) of the object is grasped in real time through inertial elements, such as accelerometers, and the angular velocity of the object is measured through the gyroscope, and the motion attitude and direction change of the object are obtained.
We've all had the experience of being drowsy in the car with our eyes closed in the dark night, but we can sense whether the car is accelerating or slowing down, turning left or right, moving forward or reversing, and that's because we also have an "inertial navigation" device in our body.
This is the vestibular system in our inner ear, which is keenly aware of the balance of the body, and its principle is actually the same as that of an inertial navigation device.
As early as the 50s of the last century, inertial navigation has begun to be applied.
After several generations of development and evolution, its accuracy is getting higher and higher, and the continuous 3D cooled atomic beam interferometer announced by the United States this time uses quantum technology to greatly improve the accuracy of inertial navigation.
The device uses a laser to freeze atoms to an ultra-low temperature state close to absolute zero, at such a temperature, the movement of atoms almost disappears, ensuring that the atoms are not disturbed by external factors.
The cooled atoms pass through the beam interferometer to form two branches, which advance along different paths and are superimposed at another point.
Since atoms are affected differently on different paths, such as gravity or magnetic fields, when they meet again, interference patterns are formed under the effect of the principle of overlapping wave functions, and according to these patterns, the position of motion can be accurately calculated for navigation.
This kind of navigation device is completely shielded from the influence of the outside world, whether it is in outer space, the deep sea, or underground, in tunnels, it can accurately calculate the position of objects, and can easily adapt to various extreme environments.
At the same time, due to the characteristics of quantum entanglement, the navigation data of the device has the characteristics of non-monitoring, it does not emit any signals to the outside, there is no traceable trace of radiation, magnetic fields, radio waves, etc., and it is impossible to obtain its information from the outside world, at least with the current technology of human beings.
Compared with satellite navigation, this device undoubtedly greatly improves the stability and safety of the navigation system, and has a high degree of accuracy.
Traditional GPS systems are susceptible to interference or shielding, and even if you drill a tunnel, there will be no signal for navigation.
Taking the Gulf War launched by the United States as an example, some missiles did not hit their targets because the GPS signal was interfered with by the environment and could not navigate normally.
The advent of quantum navigation devices will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the military, as it can adapt to all environments around the clock and ensure that it still works normally under extreme conditions.
Whether it is missiles, drones, or even artillery shells, or submarines, space vehicles and even individual soldiers, they can all be equipped to achieve precise navigation.
At the same time, it is very small in size, has a high degree of concealment and versatility, and can be used even in a smartphone, which greatly expands its range of applications.
The United States is also full of confidence in this technology, and has divided the capabilities of some major countries in the world in this field of technology, classifying the United States, Britain, and France as the first echelon, believing that they have the ability to conduct complete independent research and development, and China being classified into the third echelon, believing that it has some research and development capabilities.
The basis for this assessment does not come from nowhere, but the United States has always been happy with the "rating", let's take a look, but the application of quantum technology in inertial navigation that the United States values is worthy of the mainland's attention.
In fact, research in the field of quantum science and technology in mainland China has started since the 90s of the last century, and it has been more than 20 years.
In 2016, the continent's first quantum science experimental satellite "Micius" was launched to conduct research on quantum communication on a space scale, which is also the first time in the world.
In 2017, the first optical quantum computer developed by the mainland came out, which was also the first in the world, and since then, the "Chapter 9" series of quantum computers have been launched, continuously improving the mainland's strength in the field of quantum computing.
In January 2024, the mainland's third-generation superconducting quantum computer "Origin Wukong" will be put into operation, which indicates that the mainland's quantum computing technology has been at the forefront of the world.
In terms of quantum navigation, the prototype of the atomic spin gyroscope developed by the mainland is equivalent to the highest index publicly reported abroad, and other related equipment has also approached or reached the international leading level, and it is believed that in the near future, the mainland's quantum navigation equipment will meet the world.
Relatively speaking, the mainland is more focused on the field of quantum communication and quantum computing in quantum technology, while the United States is more focused on the field of quantum precision measurement, especially quantum navigation, which is a high-priority development project of the United States, and it is reasonable to take the lead in making some breakthroughs.
Quantum technology still has a long way to go from scientific and technological breakthroughs to practical applications, and it is generally believed that the progress of quantum technology will be an important part of the fourth industrial revolution, and this time, China will not be absent.
Resources:
[1] People's Liberation Army Daily: "Quantum Navigation: A New Generation of Navigation Technology"
[2] Chinese Academy of Sciences: "The Realization of Quantum-Safe Time Transfer by the Mainland "Micius" Satellite Lays the Foundation for Future Navigation
[3] The Paper: "Pan Jianwei: A Hundred Years of Quantum, Quantum Information is in the Ascendant"