In manifesto, scientists oppose ‘militarisation’ of quantum research

A group of quantum researchers has issued a manifesto urging colleagues to resist what it calls the “militarisation” of quantum science. The authors, who describe themselves as “Quantum Scientists for Disarmament”, say they oppose military uses of quantum research, reject military funding for academic work, and want universities to disclose which quantum projects take defence money.

The manifesto, uploaded to the arXiv repository on the web on January 13, frames its call as a response to wider trends in rearmament and the spread of dual-use technologies, i.e. those that claim civilian value while also serving defence goals. The group proposes four immediate steps: to speak as a collective against military use, to force an ethics debate inside the field, to create a forum for concerned researchers, and to establish a public database listing defence-funded projects at public universities.

“We still believe that war must be utterly rejected as a means of settling international disputes, and that peace can only be guaranteed by diplomacy, international treaties, and cooperation, rather than by mutual assured destruction,” the manifesto says. “As scientists working in a non-neutral research field, we can raise our voices toward that aim.”

Military patronage

The researchers argue that quantum physics is no longer just basic science and that its military applications have become evident. These include quantum communications, space and drone sensing, high-precision timing for navigation, and surveillance.

The manifesto says that NATO, for example, has located its quantum physics work inside its broader “emerging and disruptive technologies” agenda and released a public quantum strategy summary in 2024 that described research in this field as an element of strategic competition. European institutions have also described quantum physics as relevant to defence projects, with the European Commission describing quantum sensors as offering performance improvements for military operations.

The manifesto also says India’s National Quantum Mission works in “strong collaboration” with the public and private defence sectors. Late last month, India’s Chief of Defence Staff released a ‘Military Quantum Mission Policy Framework’ to guide how the armed forces plan to integrate quantum technologies.

Researchers don’t always see the defence implications of a project at the outset. Even when partial information exists, institutions can hide it behind funding structures and partnership vehicles. This is why they say they’ve called for a public database, to force agencies and institutions to be clear about who funds what, and to reduce the room for any actors to deny their involvement after a technology finds its way into a military application.

Military patronage has a long history in physics, a field in which it has often shaped research agendas without always dictating the day-to-day contents of experiments. Quantum physics itself grew out of attempts in the early 20th century to explain atoms and light, work associated with figures such as Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Erwin Schrödinger. But the second half of the century pushed quantum ideas into devices like atomic clocks, masers and lasers, and semiconductor physics, all of which states treated as strategic technologies.

Accounts of the development of quantum electronics and universities’ incentives and organisational structures during the Cold War have paved the way for debates about whether such patronage only accelerated research or also changed its direction, and about how much agency scientists have retained inside these funding systems.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) at the U.S. Department of Defence is also famed for directly funding quantum information science for decades. 

‘Soft power’

Today, however, quantum physics, cyber security, advanced artificial intelligence, and space systems are all capabilities that governments want to control, scale, and weaponise, often with the anxiety that their rivals might do so first.

The manifesto acknowledges that the greater threat isn’t every piece of quantum research leading to a weapon but that defence-linked funding can reshape the whole ecosystem in the military establishment’s favour. This is mainly because its funding is stable, which is attractive for students and universities.

“The expansion of military funding for both basic and applied research on emerging technologies, including quantum technologies, is not limited to the world’s major military powers. In a broader context, this opaque expansion often takes the form of asymmetric military-academic partnerships between the defense departments of powerful nations and academic institutions of the Global South,” the manifesto adds.

“This strategy serves as a subtle mechanism through which hegemonic countries impose their ‘soft’ power over nations of the Global South. For instance, from the perspective of states that can spend less of their public money on science, these funds can support projects that would not be executed otherwise, and help maintain pre-existing infrastructure and personnel, appearing as nearly irrecusable offers.”

mukunth.v@thehindu.co.in

Published – February 22, 2026 03:39 pm IST