The potential for underwater innovative applications of Quantum Science and Technology is profound. The underwater world is a very harsh environment, where any human activity results extremely difficult to carry out. Undersea communications, autonomous navigation, sensing are challenging, and their performance are poor when compared to the corresponding terrestrial activities. It is expected that the second quantum revolution will have a progressive impact on that. However, porting quantum applications undersea is not an easy task: it requires big interdisciplinary efforts, complex theoretical studies and advanced experimental capabilities, both in labs and at sea. Examples in the field of Underwater Quantum Key Distribution and Quantum Autonomous Navigation and Quantum Sensing will be presented, and the ongoing research activities at the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation will be overviewed.

Pietro Paglierani, Scientist, NATO