Air Force Research Laboratory Partners with QC Ware to Apply Quantum Machine Learning in Identifying Flight Patterns of Unmanned Aircraft

(PRNewswire) The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and QC Ware are exploring the use of one of QC Ware’s proprietary quantum machine learning algorithms to understand the purpose or mission objective of unmanned aircraft by observing its flight path. Called q-means, the quantum algorithm for clustering and classification can also be applied to a variety of AFRL mission applications.
QC Ware has been an early partner in advancing a key AFRL objective — supporting quantum algorithm development in optimization, machine learning, and quantum simulation for implementation in near-term quantum computers. The project is part of a larger AFRL effort to engage with expert researchers in industry, academia, and the Department of Defense to apply quantum information science to Air Force and Space Force concerns and ensure they remain the most advanced and capable force in the world.
“AFRL is pleased to partner with QC Ware on the development of quantum machine learning algorithms. Early and continued investment in quantum software firmly aligns with AFRL’s quantum strategy. As quantum computing hardware continues to rapidly advance and become more practical, we believe that these types of algorithms will readily find applications to real-world Air Force scenarios,” said Dr. Mike Hayduk, Deputy Director, AFRL Information Directorate.

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,000 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development.