Key Highlights

  • Trump signed two executive orders targeting a fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2028 and migration of key government computing systems to post-quantum cryptography by 2030 to 2031.
  • The Pentagon has been directed to deploy quantum sensors by 2028, with applications spanning GPS-denied navigation in war zones and satellite-based detection of underground tunnels and missile silos.
  • The Commerce Department committed $2 billion in equity stakes across nine quantum computing companies last month, including a new IBM (NYSE: IBM) venture, providing the capital foundation for the 2028 timeline.

President Trump signed two executive orders on Monday directing a coordinated federal push to develop a powerful quantum computer for scientific research by 2028 while simultaneously hardening US government systems against the cybersecurity threats that quantum computing poses to existing encryption infrastructure.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy previewed the orders, with its director stating the administration believes a fault-tolerant quantum computer capable of addressing complex scientific problems is achievable within the four-year window. Quantum computers use quantum physics principles to process information in ways that can solve certain complex problems far faster than conventional supercomputers, including the ability to break the encryption that currently protects government and commercial computer systems from cyberattacks.

The first order addresses that offensive risk directly, setting a government-wide goal of migrating critical federal computing infrastructure to post-quantum cryptography by 2030 to 2031, a timeline that gives agencies four to five years to complete a transition that cybersecurity planners have long identified as essential but difficult to execute at scale across the federal government's fragmented technology estate.

The second order expands the quantum agenda beyond computing into sensing, directing the Pentagon to deploy quantum sensors by 2028. Quantum sensors offer navigational capability in environments where GPS has been jammed or disrupted, a militarily relevant application given the frequency of GPS interference in active conflict zones, and can be placed on satellites to detect underground construction activity including tunnel networks and missile silo development.

The orders also call for agencies to develop five-year deployment plans for quantum-enabled sensors and networks, and direct strengthened international cooperation on intellectual property protections and supply chain security in quantum technology, reflecting concerns that adversaries are actively seeking to acquire US quantum advances through commercial and academic channels.

The Commerce Department's $2 billion equity commitment across nine quantum computing companies announced last month provides the commercial investment foundation that the executive orders' timelines require. The package frames quantum as a technology that could fuel advances in artificial intelligence, materials science, and chemistry, positioning US leadership in the field as both an economic and national security imperative.