Beneath the Waves, a Quantum First: How Infleqtion’s Optical Clock Could Redefine GPS-Free Navigation
In late October 2025, a small autonomous submarine from MSubs and the British Royal Navy made history beneath the North Atlantic. Aboard was Tiqker, a quantum optical atomic clock built by Infleqtion, a leader in neutral atom quantum technology.
The mission marked the world’s first underwater deployment of a quantum optical clock—a breakthrough that could transform GPS-free navigation for submarines, aircraft, and autonomous vehicles.
A milestone for quantum navigation
Infleqtion announced on 28 October 2025 that Tiqker had been successfully operated aboard the Royal Navy’s Excalibur (XCal), an extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XLUUV) developed under the Navy’s CETUS programme. The test proved that a next-generation optical atomic clock could survive and function in a real operational submarine environment—something that had never been achieved before.
“Submarines represent an immediate need for these clocks,” says Max Perez, Infleqtion’s Vice President and General Manager for Clock. “They operate in intrinsically GPS/GNSS denied environments. Autonomous submarines especially require the timing provided by Tiqker systems for positioning and other on-board systems.”
All navigation ultimately depends on precise timekeeping. When GPS signals are lost or blocked, systems rely on internal clocks to calculate position. Even small drifts can accumulate into large positional errors. Optical atomic clocks like Tiqker dramatically slow that drift, offering submarines and other vehicles a way to stay on course without GPS.
“All navigation is reference to time either directly or indirectly,” Perez explains. “The resulting improved timing precision allows platforms to navigate longer and with improved positioning precision in a GPS-denied environment.”
What makes Tiqker different?
Traditional atomic clocks—including those used in GPS satellites—measure time using microwave transitions in atoms. Optical atomic clocks operate at much higher frequencies, making them thousands of times more precise.
“Traditional atomic clocks, both conventional and chip-scale, use microwave atomic transitions,” Perez says. “Optical atomic clocks use optical transitions, which represent a clock ‘tick’ that is thousands of times faster. This faster ‘tick’ is like a thousand extra lines on a ruler dividing time into that many finer increments, resulting in improved precision.”
That extra precision means longer missions, more accurate inertial navigation, and better performance in GPS-denied environments—whether under the sea, underground, or in space.
Why Infleqtion bets on neutral atom quantum technology
Quantum technology comes in several forms—superconducting qubits, trapped ions, and photonic systems among them. Infleqtion’s core expertise is in neutral atom quantum systems, where individual atoms are trapped and manipulated by light. The company believes this platform offers unmatched flexibility across both computing and sensing applications.
“Neutral atoms are the most powerful platform for quantum technologies due to their versatility and scalability,” says Perez. “The same platform can be used for quantum clocks, quantum RF sensors, quantum accelerometers and gyroscopes, quantum gravimeters, and quantum computers.”
This cross-platform approach allows Infleqtion to commercialize quantum technologies today, long before universal quantum computing becomes mainstream.
Building trust with the Royal Navy and MSubs
Infleqtion’s UK division has spent years working closely with the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to advance quantum inertial navigation and timing systems.
The collaboration with MSubs came together quickly, according to Perez. “The opportunity to work with them was made available on short notice when the mission need, the available payload space, and the solution that Tiqker provides aligned,” Perez says. “The Infleqtion team jumped at the chance to participate, prepared a unit for the tests and worked overnight in the days leading up to the test window to deliver the Tiqker unit.”
What the trial proved
The trial proved Tiqker’s robustness in a cold, vibration-intense underwater setting. “It demonstrated that Tiqker is suitable for this particularly harsh environment and can provide a timescale reference for navigation and other onboard systems critical for mission success,” Perez says. “Tiqker can now be considered as a part of the technical package for both traditional and autonomous submarine platforms by the UK MOD.”
One of the key challenges in many quantum technologies is aligning the start-up time with the mission profile, he adds. “We discovered that the lower temperatures intrinsic to submarine missions in the North Atlantic will delay startup if the appropriate parameters are not fine-tuned. During the trials, our team monitored the startup profile so that a Tiqker configuration specific to the needs of the Royal Navy can be optimized for future missions.”
Beyond defence: quantum timing for the digital economy
While Tiqker’s first mission was with the Royal Navy, its potential extends far beyond defence applications.
“Timing is a hidden utility that permeates the world's commercial economies,” Perez says. “The high-performance timing offered by Tiqker is a game changer in particular for sectors like satellite tracking, high speed trading, data center work-balancing and synchronization, and next generation wireless communication.”
Tiqker’s ability to hold accurate time over long periods could make the systems used in these settings more resilient to outages, jamming, or signal loss.
Shrinking quantum hardware for real-world use
Like many quantum systems, Tiqker’s next evolution depends on miniaturisation and cost reduction.
“While Tiqker is ready to go for a number of applications today, as with most quantum systems, both size and cost reductions will open up larger applications and markets,” Perez says. “The primary limitation is the size and cost of the photonic components within these systems. Photonic integration using lithographic manufacturing techniques will bring the advantages of quantum technologies to wide commercial use.”
This shift toward photonic integration—placing lasers, modulators, and detectors on a single chip—could unlock mass production and bring quantum sensing into mainstream infrastructure.
Infleqtion’s next steps: from defence to commercial rollout
As Infleqtion prepares to go public through a planned merger with Churchill Capital Corp X, Perez says the company’s priorities are clear. “On a three-year time scale, Infleqtion will be using the resources available as a public company to reduce both the size and cost of Tiqker by 50%, opening up commercial sectors, all of which are seeking industry-wide improved time and synchronization performance.”
That 50% reduction target—achieved through optical integration and manufacturing advances—could move Tiqker from defence labs into telecom networks, financial centres, and industrial automation systems.
The bigger picture: resilience in an era of GPS risk
The world’s dependence on GPS and GNSS makes navigation and timing systems vulnerable to jamming, spoofing, or outages. From shipping and aviation to telecommunications, the ability to navigate and synchronize independently of satellites is a matter of both security and resilience.
Infleqtion’s neutral atom quantum clocks like Tiqker represent a new kind of redundancy: ground- or sea-based timing systems that can keep the world ticking even when the satellites go dark.
“The faster ‘tick’ of optical transitions allows us to divide time into finer increments,” Perez says. “That precision doesn’t just make a better clock—it makes better navigation, better communication, and ultimately, a more connected world.”