Japan eyes quantum sub-hunting drone sensors as China extends undersea reach

Japan is looking to develop submarine-detecting quantum sensors for aerial drones, the latest move in a growing undersea competition pitting China against the United States and its allies across the Indo-Pacific.
Released in late August, Tokyo’s defence budget request for fiscal 2027 includes research into a smaller, more capable quantum magnetic sensor, a technology that uses the properties of atoms to detect tiny changes in magnetic fields that could reveal a submarine.
The project is one of...