II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4105 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to accelerate the implementation of quantum information science technologies within the Department of Defense, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 10, 2024 

Mrs. BLACKBURN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Defense to accelerate the implementation of quantum information science technologies 

within the Department of Defense, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defense Quantum Ac5 celeration Act of 2024’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 4105 IS

1 SEC. 2. JOINT QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE DEFENSE 

2 TRANSITION ACTIVITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 301 of title 10, United 

4 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 4001 

5 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘§ 4002. Joint quantum information science defense 

7 transition activities 

8 ‘‘(a) ACTIVITIES REQUIRED.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 

10 shall establish a set of activities to accelerate the 

11 adoption and implementation quantum information 

12 science technology within the Department of De13 fense. 

14 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Pursuant to the activities es15 tablished under paragraph (1), the Secretary, acting 

16 through the Principal Quantum Advisor designated 

17 under subsection (b), shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) explore and identify quantum infor19 mation science technologies and use cases 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(i) have demonstrated value in ad22 vancing the priorities and missions of the 

23 Department; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) may be applied to address oper25 ational problems; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 4105 IS

1 ‘‘(B) develop plans to transition such 

2 quantum information science technologies from 

3 the research and development phase to oper4 ational use within the Department, including 

5 within each of the Armed Forces; and 

6 ‘‘(C) carry out such transition plans. 

7 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF PRINCIPAL QUANTUM ADVI8 SOR.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of the enactment of the Defense 

11 Quantum Acceleration Act of 2024, the Secretary of 

12 Defense shall designate a senior official of the De13 partment of Defense to serve as the Principal Quan14 tum Advisor for the Department. 

15 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Principal Quan16 tum Advisor shall serve as the official within the De17 partment of Defense with principal responsibility 

18 for— 

19 ‘‘(A) coordinating activities relating to the 

20 accelerated demonstration and transition of 

21 quantum information science technologies for 

22 applications specific to operational challenges 

23 faced by the Department; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 4105 IS

1 ‘‘(B) coordinating, overseeing, and man2 aging the set of activities established under sub3 section (a); 

4 ‘‘(C) carrying out the activities described 

5 in paragraphs (3) through (6); and 

6 ‘‘(D) carrying out such other duties relat7 ing to the development and implementation of 

8 quantum information science technologies as 

9 the Secretary may direct. 

10 ‘‘(3) DEFINING AND CODIFYING DEFENSE

11 QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE USE CASES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Principal Quan13 tum Advisor shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) identify operational challenges 

15 faced by the Department of Defense that 

16 have the potential to be addressed through 

17 the use of quantum information science18 technology based solutions, including solu19 tions based on the quantum information 

20 science technology areas described sub21 paragraph (C); 

22 ‘‘(ii) for each such challenge, deter23 mine if the implementation of a quantum 

24 information science technology-based solu25 tion has the potential to be significantly 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 4105 IS

1 more effective at addressing such challenge 

2 compared to a non-quantum information 

3 science technology-based solution, taking 

4 into account the technology and manufac5 turing readiness level of the quantum in6 formation science technology-based solu7 tion; 

8 ‘‘(iii) for each potential quantum in9 formation science technology-based solution 

10 identified under clause (ii), evaluate and 

11 determine the technology and manufac12 turing readiness level of the solution taking 

13 into account the current readiness level of 

14 such solution— 

15 ‘‘(I) within the Department; 

16 ‘‘(II) among other departments 

17 and agencies of the Federal Govern18 ment; 

19 ‘‘(III) among Five Eyes coun20 tries; and 

21 ‘‘(IV) within academia and indus22 try. 

23 ‘‘(iv) for each quantum information 

24 science technology-based solution deter25 mined under clause (iii) to have a techVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4105.IS S4105

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 4105 IS

1 nology and manufacturing readiness level 

2 of 5 or higher, begin prototyping and eval3 uation activities of such solution at scale in 

4 operationally relevant environments by not 

5 later than the end of fiscal year 2025; and 

6 ‘‘(v) for each quantum information 

7 science technology-based solution deter8 mined under clause (iii) to have a tech9 nology and manufacturing readiness level 

10 of 4 or lower, submit to Congress a plan 

11 for funding such solution over the period 

12 of five fiscal years following the date of the 

13 report using research, development, test, 

14 and evaluation funds designated as budget 

15 activity 1 (basic research), budget activity 

16 2 (applied research), budget activity 3 (ad17 vanced technology development), or budget 

18 activity 4 (advanced component develop19 ment and prototypes) as those budget ac20 tivity classifications are set forth in volume 

21 2B, chapter 5 of the Department of De22 fense Financial Management Regulation 

23 (DOD 7000.14–R), or successor regula24 tion. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 4105 IS

1 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this 

2 paragraph, the Principal Quantum Advisor 

3 shall coordinate with and seek input from the 

4 Armed Forces and unified combatant com5 mands— 

6 ‘‘(i) to identify and better understand 

7 the operational requirements of such 

8 Armed Forces and commands; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) to ensure that the timeline for 

10 transitioning any quantum information 

11 science technology-based capability to oper12 ational use within the Armed Forces and 

13 combatant commands aligns with— 

14 ‘‘(I) the plans of such Forces and 

15 commands across the period covered 

16 by the future-years defense program; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(II) the program objective 

19 memorandum processes for such 

20 Forces and commands. 

21 ‘‘(C) QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE

22 TECHNOLOGY AREAS DESCRIBED.—The quan23 tum information science technology areas de24 scribed in this subparagraph are the following: 

25 ‘‘(i) Quantum sensing, including— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 4105 IS

1 ‘‘(I) alternative precision naviga2 tion and timing; 

3 ‘‘(II) undersea or underground 

4 detection; 

5 ‘‘(III) advanced intelligence, sur6 veillance, and reconnaissance quantum 

7 imaging techniques; and 

8 ‘‘(IV) biomedical and health care. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Quantum computing, including— 

10 ‘‘(I) annealing; 

11 ‘‘(II) quantum-enabled machine 

12 learning; 

13 ‘‘(III) simulation and optimiza14 tion; and 

15 ‘‘(IV) integrating quantum com16 puting with high-performance super17 computing. 

18 ‘‘(iii) Quantum annealing. 

19 ‘‘(iv) Quantum communications, net20 working, and networked quantum com21 puters. 

22 ‘‘(v) Quantum-enabled modeling and 

23 simulation. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 4105 IS

1 ‘‘(vi) Hybrid quantum computing and 

2 the integration of quantum and classical 

3 computing components. 

4 ‘‘(vii) Such other quantum-enabled 

5 technologies as the Principal Quantum Ad6 visor considers appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(4) ACCELERATION OF DEVELOPMENT AND

8 FIELDING OF QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE

9 TECHNOLOGIES.—The Principal Quantum Advisor 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) use the flexibility of regulations, per12 sonnel, acquisition, partnerships with industry 

13 and academia, or other relevant policies of the 

14 Department to accelerate the transition and 

15 fielding of quantum information science tech16 nologies; 

17 ‘‘(B) ensure engagement with combatant 

18 commands, defense and private industries, re19 search universities, and unaffiliated, nonprofit 

20 research institutions on matters relating such 

21 quantum information science technologies; and 

22 ‘‘(C) provide technical advice and support 

23 organizations and elements of the Department 

24 of Defense, including the Armed Forces, to opVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4105.IS S4105

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 4105 IS

1 timize the use of quantum information science 

2 technologies to meet mission requirements. 

3 ‘‘(5) INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA ENGAGE4 MENT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) INCLUSION IN CONSORTIUM.—The 

6 Secretary, in coordination with the Director of 

7 the National Institute of Standards and Tech8 nology, shall ensure that the Principal Quan9 tum Advisor is included in the activities of the 

10 consortium established pursuant to section 

11 201(b) of the National Quantum Initiative Act 

12 (15 U.S.C. 8831(b)). 

13 ‘‘(B) OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.—Not less 

14 frequently than once each quarter, the Principal 

15 Quantum Advisor shall conduct outreach and 

16 engagement with industry and academic lead17 ers— 

18 ‘‘(i) to educate organizations in the 

19 quantum information science industrial 

20 base on national security quantum infor21 mation science use cases and operational 

22 challenges faced by the Department that 

23 have the potential to be addressed through 

24 the use of quantum information science 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 4105 IS

1 technology-based solutions as described in 

2 paragraph (3); 

3 ‘‘(ii) to the extent determined appro4 priate by the Principal Quantum Advisor, 

5 provide industry with the opportunity to 

6 identify quantum information science tech7 nology-based solutions to operational chal8 lenges faced by the Department; 

9 ‘‘(iii) to educate organizations in the 

10 Defense industrial base on near-term and 

11 commercially available quantum informa12 tion science technology-based solutions that 

13 provide operationally relevant warfighting 

14 capabilities; 

15 ‘‘(iv) to advance relevant quantum in16 formation science supply chains and manu17 facturing capabilities within the United 

18 States and among allies and partners of 

19 the United States; and 

20 ‘‘(v) to facilitate the commercializa21 tion of quantum information science tech22 nology-based solutions developed by the re23 search and engineering organizations of 

24 the Department of Defense. 

25 ‘‘(6) ALLIED QUANTUM ENHANCEMENT.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 4105 IS

1 ‘‘(A) ALIGNMENT WITH AUKUS EF2 FORTS.—Based on the quantum information 

3 science use cases identified under paragraph 

4 (3)(A)(ii), the Principal Quantum Advisor 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) identify areas in which the United 

7 Kingdom and Australia, pursuant to Pillar 

8 II the partnership among Australia, the 

9 United Kingdom, and the United States 

10 (commonly known as ‘AUKUS’ ) are pur11 suing technology aligned with such use 

12 cases; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) align Department research and 

14 development and procurement funding in 

15 relation to quantum information science 

16 technologies on accelerating opportunities 

17 where Australia and the United Kingdom 

18 are pursuing such technologies. 

19 ‘‘(B) MULTILATERAL AUKUS AND NATO

20 MEETINGS.—The Principal Quantum Advisor 

21 shall organize— 

22 ‘‘(i) a recurring multilateral meeting 

23 of quantum technology experts from the 

24 United States, the United Kingdom, and 

25 Australia to facilitate information-sharing 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•S 4105 IS

1 and planning relevant to quantum informa2 tion science technology and defense-specific 

3 use cases for such technology; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) a recurring multilateral meeting 

5 of quantum technology experts from mem6 ber nations of the North Atlantic Treaty 

7 Organization to facilitate such information8 sharing and planning. 

9 ‘‘(c) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PLAN REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall de11 velop strategic plan to guide the development, as12 sessment, procurement, and implementation of quan13 tum information science technologies within the De14 partment over the period of five years following the 

15 date of the plan. 

16 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required under 

17 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) Plans for the continuous evaluation, 

19 development, and implementation of quantum 

20 information science technology solutions within 

21 the Department. 

22 ‘‘(B) Plans for the development, review, 

23 performance evaluation, and adoption of a 

24 fault-tolerant, utility-scale quantum computer 

25 and the transition of that capability to approVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4105.IS S4105

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•S 4105 IS

1 priate organizations and elements of the De2 partment, including the Armed Forces, and 

3 such other departments and agencies of the 

4 Federal Government as the Secretary deter5 mines appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(C) Plans for allocating the resources of 

7 the Department to ensure such resources are 

8 focused on quantum information science tech9 nologies with the potential to solve operational 

10 challenges. 

11 ‘‘(D) Identification of quantum informa12 tion science technologies that— 

13 ‘‘(i) have critical defense-specific ap14 plications; 

15 ‘‘(ii) cannot be adapted from commer16 cially available quantum information 

17 science technology; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) are unlikely to be pursued or ac19 celerated by industry because of limited 

20 commercial value. 

21 ‘‘(E) Plans for supporting the development 

22 of capabilities identified under subparagraph 

23 (D). 

24 ‘‘(F) Plans to help strengthen the quantum 

25 information science supply chain domestically 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•S 4105 IS

1 and among trusted allies and against untrusted 

2 adversaries, including through an assessment 

3 of— 

4 ‘‘(i) any associated strengths, weak5 nesses, opportunities and threats; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) critical components, suppliers, 

7 and single points of failure. 

8 ‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

9 one year after the date of the enactment of the De10 fense Quantum Acceleration Act of 2024, the Sec11 retary shall submit to Congress a report that in12 cludes the plan developed under paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(d) COMMERCIAL SECURITY STRATEGY.—The Sec14 retary shall adopt a comprehensive security strategy for 

15 commercially developed capabilities based on the guide uti16 lized in the Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale 

17 Quantum Computing program of the Defense Advanced 

18 Research Projects Agency. 

19 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL SECURITY QUANTUM INFORMATION

20 SCIENCE ADOPTION ACCELERATION TESTBED.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of De22 fense, in consultation with the Secretary of Com23 merce and the Secretary of Energy, shall establish 

24 a national defense quantum information science joint 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•S 4105 IS

1 center of excellence (referred to in this subsection as 

2 the ‘Center’). 

3 ‘‘(2) ORGANIZATION.—The Center shall be op4 erated by the Secretary and shall include participa5 tion from at least the following organizations: 

6 ‘‘(A) One or more research laboratories of 

7 the Armed Forces. 

8 ‘‘(B) A National Laboratory (as defined in 

9 section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

10 U.S.C. 15801)). 

11 ‘‘(C) A federally funded research and de12 velopment center or a university-affiliated re13 search center. 

14 ‘‘(D) Quantum information science compa15 nies. 

16 ‘‘(3) LOCATION.—The Secretary of Defense 

17 shall establish the Center at a location in the United 

18 States that is reasonably accessible to each organiza19 tion described in paragraph (2). 

20 ‘‘(4) ACTIVITIES.—The Center shall carry out 

21 the following activities: 

22 ‘‘(A) Facilitate quantum information 

23 science technology transition and workforce de24 velopment activities. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•S 4105 IS

1 ‘‘(B) Conduct outreach to enhance indus2 try and academia’s understanding of and con3 tribution to national security quantum informa4 tion science technology use cases and current 

5 operational challenges faced by the Department. 

6 ‘‘(C) Prototype quantum information 

7 science technologies, with priority given to the 

8 prototyping and transition of quantum informa9 tion science-enabled position, navigation, and 

10 timing efforts and quantum sensors at tech11 nology readiness level six or higher. 

12 ‘‘(D) Integrate the prototyping activities 

13 under subparagraph (C) with the needs of the 

14 unified combatant commands. 

15 ‘‘(E) Accelerate the transition of advanced 

16 quantum information science technology from 

17 the research and development phase into oper18 ational use. 

19 ‘‘(F) Expand the quantum information 

20 science workforce of the United States and the 

21 quantum information science workforces of na22 tions that are allies and partners of the United 

23 States. 

24 ‘‘(5) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 

25 may award grants and enter into contracts and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•S 4105 IS

1 other agreements, on a competitive basis, to support 

2 the activities of the Center. 

3 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this subsection $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2025 through 2029. 

7 ‘‘(f) RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES AND WORKFORCE

8 PLANNING.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ENHANCEMENT OF RESEARCH OPPORTU10 NITIES.—Not later than one year after the date of 

11 the enactment of Defense Quantum Acceleration Act 

12 of 2024, the Secretary shall seek to increase oppor13 tunities for the study of quantum information 

14 science within— 

15 ‘‘(A) the military service academies. 

16 ‘‘(B) the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(C) other institutions and programs of 

19 the Department and the Armed Forces that 

20 provide postsecondary and graduate level edu21 cation. 

22 ‘‘(2) STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.— 

23 The Secretary shall direct the chief of each Armed 

24 Force, in consultation with the heads of the research 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•S 4105 IS

1 laboratories under the jurisdiction of such Armed 

2 Force— 

3 ‘‘(A) to adopt internal standard operating 

4 procedures for quantum information science 

5 workforce development to monitor and evaluate 

6 progress toward human capital goals and 

7 human capital programmatic results; and 

8 ‘‘(B) to involve top management, employ9 ees, and other stakeholders in quantum infor10 mation science workforce planning by— 

11 ‘‘(i) developing and implementing an 

12 enterprise-wide strategic quantum work13 force plan; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) communicating quantum work15 force goals, initiatives, and metrics for 

16 evaluating success throughout each labora17 tory. 

18 ‘‘(g) BUDGET REVIEW.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, acting 

20 through the Under Secretary of Defense (Comp21 troller), require the Secretaries of the military de22 partments and the heads of the Defense Agencies 

23 with responsibilities associated with any quantum in24 formation science activity to transmit the proposed 

25 budget for such activities for a fiscal year and for 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•S 4105 IS

1 the period covered by the future-years defense pro2 gram submitted to Congress under section 221 of 

3 this title for that fiscal year to the Principal Quan4 tum Advisor for review before submitting the pro5 posed budget to the Under Secretary of Defense 

6 (Comptroller). 

7 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—The Principal 

8 Quantum Advisor shall review each proposed budget 

9 transmitted, and, not later than January 31 of the 

10 year preceding the fiscal year for which the budget 

11 is proposed, shall submit to the Secretary a report 

12 containing the comments of the Principal Quantum 

13 Advisor with respect to all such proposed budgets, 

14 together with the certification of the Principal Quan15 tum Advisor regarding whether each proposed budg16 et is adequate. 

17 ‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

18 March 31 of each year, the Secretary of Defense 

19 shall submit to Congress a report specifying each 

20 proposed budget that the Principal Quantum Advi21 sor did not certify to be adequate. The report of the 

22 Secretary shall include the following matters: 

23 ‘‘(A) A discussion of the actions that the 

24 Secretary proposes to take, together with any 

25 recommended legislation that the Secretary conVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Apr 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4105.IS S4105

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•S 4105 IS

1 siders appropriate, to address the inadequacy of 

2 the proposed budgets specified in the report. 

3 ‘‘(B) Any additional comments that the 

4 Secretary considers appropriate regarding the 

5 inadequacy of the proposed budgets. 

6 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section; 

7 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Five Eyes countries’ means the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(A) Australia. 

10 ‘‘(B) Canada. 

11 ‘‘(C) New Zealand. 

12 ‘‘(D) The United Kingdom. 

13 ‘‘(E) The United States. 

14 ‘‘(2) The term ‘quantum information science’ 

15 means the use of the laws of quantum physics for 

16 the storage, transmission, manipulation, computing, 

17 or measurement of information.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

19 at the beginning of chapter 301 of such title is amended 

20 by inserting after the item relating to section 4001 the 

21 following new item: 

‘‘4002. Joint quantum information science defense transition activities.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB