Argus - stock.adobe.com Singapore's military to explore quantum computing for mission planning The Singapore Armed Forces' Digital and Intelligence Service and the Defence Science and Technology Agency are working with IBM to test quantum optimisation for military logistics The Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) have teamed up with IBM to explore the use of quantum computing for complex mission planning, starting with logistics. Under the tie-up, DIS and DSTA engineers will work with IBM specialists to develop and evaluate quantum optimisation approaches for a representative mission planning problem, with cloud access to IBM's quantum computing resources and support from the company. The goal, according to Singapore's Ministry of Defence (Mindef), is to build indigenous quantum expertise and assess whether quantum approaches can eventually outperform conventional methods on selected planning processes. “Quantum computing has the potential to transform how complex mission planning problems are solved, and we believe it is important to engage early to understand both its opportunities and limitations,” said Military Expert 7 Guo Jinghua, commander of the SAF’s C4 (command, control, communications and computers) and Digitalisation Command and CIO of the DIS. “By investing in our people and capabilities today, we will be better prepared to harness quantum technologies as they mature.” Speaking at a customer panel on the sidelines of the event, Guo, whose command builds and operates the SAF's core digital stack, which spans communications networks, cloud, datacentres and common software and artificial intelligence (AI) applications, explained why optimisation problems such as military resupplies are a natural fit for quantum machines. A resupply run across just 20 locations, he noted, can be sequenced in about two quintillion ways, with each additional stop scaling the problem exponentially. “Every armed force survives on logistics,” he said.