---
title: Quantum Sensing for Defense and Navigation
type: technology
url: "https://www.envisioning.com/research/substrate/israel__quantum-sensing-defense"
hub: substrate
summary: Israeli quantum sensing research targets military applications including GPS-denied navigation, submarine detection, and underground mapping using quantum magnetometers and gravimeters.
---

# Quantum Sensing for Defense and Navigation

Israeli quantum sensing research targets military applications including GPS-denied navigation, submarine detection, and underground mapping using quantum magnetometers and gravimeters.
- Technology Readiness Level: 4/9
- Impact: 3/5
- Investment: 4/5
Israeli defense research organizations and startups are exploring quantum sensing technologies for military applications, including quantum magnetometers for submarine detection, quantum gravimeters for underground tunnel mapping, and quantum inertial navigation systems that function without GPS. These technologies exploit quantum effects (superposition, entanglement) to achieve measurement sensitivities far beyond classical sensors.

For Israel, quantum sensing addresses specific operational needs: detecting Hezbollah tunnels (where quantum gravimeters could map underground voids), maintaining navigation in GPS-denied environments (where adversaries jam satellite signals), and submarine detection (where quantum magnetometers could sense the tiny magnetic signatures of submerged vessels at greater ranges than classical sensors).

Strategically, quantum sensing is considered the nearest-term practical application of quantum technology — closer to deployment than quantum computing — and Israel's defense-focused approach ensures rapid transition from laboratory demonstrations to operational prototypes. The $500 million invested in Israeli quantum companies in 2025 includes quantum sensing ventures, and the Israel Innovation Authority actively supports this research direction as part of the national quantum initiative.

---
Source: Envisioning — Technology Research Institute (https://www.envisioning.com/research/substrate/israel__quantum-sensing-defense)