Militaries exploring Quantum Gravity Sensors for through wall imaging, finding deeply buried structures and detection of stealth aircraft

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1 Militaries exploring Quantum Gravity Sensors for through wall imaging, finding deeply buried structures and detection of stealth aircraft We are in midst of the second quantum revolution moving from merely computing quantum properties of systems to exploiting them. Researchers are developing new capabilities in secure communication, ultra-sensitive and high signal to noise physical sensing of the environment and Quantum Information Science (QIS). Quantum sensors are measuring device that takes advantage of quantum correlations, such as states in a quantum superposition or entanglement, for better sensitivity and resolution than can be obtained by classical systems. Quantum sensors are just becoming commercially available. Quantum effects disappear when exposed to any outside interference or noise, so any quantum system or device must be carefully shielded and cooled to very low temperatures. This has limited their use in many real-world applications. QP will boost the capabilities of all sorts of sensory devices, such as gravimeters, which are used to measure the strength of a gravitational field. Gravity sensors have remarkably diverse applications. Helping determine the spatial extent of aquifers that have run dry by the change in gravity due to the water being pumped out, or the equivalent processes in oil and gas recovery (where unrecovered pockets

2 of oil and gas can represent considerable residual value) are other big applications. More academically, climate change science (snow cover of mountains and magnitude of ocean currents) and archeology ( seeing without digging) will benefit greatly. Quantum gravimetry will bring a range of economic, social and environmental benefits in the coming years, Graeme Malcolm, CEO and co-founder of M Squared said. Applications can be envisaged in many sectors, from the detection of new oil and gas deposits, surveying unknown underground infrastructures such as pipes and cables, even monitoring the water table. If we can transfer the technology into accurate seismic mapping, it could be used to predict natural disasters ranging from avalanches and volcanic eruptions to tsunamis. These quantum gravity sensors in the future may be integrated with the mobile phones which can measure the mass, shape and size of our brains that might allow our phone to diagnose a variety of medical problems, from tumours through to headaches. Quantum gravity sensors have also many military and security applications like through wall imaging, finding deeply buried structures and even detection of stealth aircraft. Firstly, accurate gravity sensing will enable attacking forces to detect underground and undersea movements, which will be a boon to detecting submarine movements from afar, diminishing their deterrent effect.

3 Military and Security Requirements Quantum gravity sensors have also many military and security applications like through wall imaging, finding deeply buried structures and even detection of stealth aircraft. Finding deeply buried structures a critical military requirement. One of the easiest ways for nations to protect weapons of mass destruction, command posts, and other critical structures is to bury them deeply, perhaps enlarging natural caves or disused mines. Deep burial is not only a means of protection against physical attack, as even without the use of nuclear weapons, there are deeply penetrating precision guided bombs that can attack them. Deep burial, with appropriate concealment during construction, is a way to avoid the opponent s knowing the buried facility s position well enough to direct precision guided weapons against it. Finding deeply buried structures, therefore, is a critical military requirement. The usual first step in finding a deep structure is IMINT, especially using hyperspectral IMINT sensors to help eliminate concealment. Hyperspectral images can help reveal information not obtainable through other forms of imagery intelligence such as the moisture content of soil. This data can also help distinguish camouflage netting from natural foliage. Still, a facility dug under a busy city would be extremely hard to find during construction. When the opponent knows that it is suspected that a deeply buried facility exists, there can be a

4 variety of decoys and lures, such as buried heat sources to confuse infrared sensors, or simply digging holes and covering them, with nothing inside. MASINT using acoustic, seismic, and magnetic sensors would appear to have promise, but these sensors must be fairly close to the target. Once these sensors (as well as HUMINT and other sources) have failed, there is promise for surveying large areas and deeply concealed facilities using gravitimetric sensors. Gravity sensors are a new field, but military requirements are making it important while the technology to do it is becoming possible. Secondly, in urban battlefields such as those in Gaza, insurgents and their military supplies often travel through underground tunnels, where they also maintain covert shelters. Here, gravity sensors will enable surveillance units to continue tracking suspected insurgents who disappear into a tunnel; and to obviate the risk of confusing the suspect with other background noise, powerful computers will separate and reconstruct the sensed movements of the person of interest. By the same token, gravity sensors will also provide valuable intelligence to both air and ground attack units, enabling them to intercept underground insurgents at the precise point of a tunnel s exit; or to attack en route, to pre-empt both the insurgents and the underground movement of supplies. Of course, a measure of precaution is needed as some tunnels may be accessible to civilians (which also form part of the background noise ), rendering the battlefield status of underground movements less certain. Thirdly, quantum gravimeters can precisely map geological features from the gravitational force they induce, thereby enabling military units to navigate in areas where satellite

5 signals are weak (or in GPS-denied environments). To illustrate the level of sensitivity, even the weight force of a human hair is measurable, thus facilitating precise mapping as a result of even minor variations across terrain. The article cites a British MoD scientist who aptly refers to this as a kind of Google maps for gravitation. This will be enormously important for the viability of lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), which may at times have to operate in denied environments, or may have to shut off their own communication links to avoid enemy hacking. Researchers at DSTL develop quantum gravity sensor that can see through walls, prevent terrorist incidences A team of scientists including experts at the MoD s Porton Down labs have developed a device which can detect even the most minuscule fluctuations in gravity. Neil Stansfield, of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, said the new quantum gravity detector works by using lasers to freeze atoms in position and then measuring how the tiny particles are affected by the gravitational pull of nearby objects. By studying how the particles are influenced by the mass of nearby objects, scientists can then draw a 3D map highlighting how density changes nearby. Stansfield, told the Telegraph: One potential use would be to allow people to see underground. From a national security perspective, the potential is obvious if you can see caves and tunnels. There is also huge potential for civilian applications. He said currently half of road works are in the wrong place because workers have no idea where pipes are

6 buried. The new sensor would be able to accurately map what was underground. The device could also detect changes through objects, such as walls, effectively allowing operators to see through walls. He said the detector could not be jammed or spoofed like many current technologies. He said: We are not sending out a wave of any form, we are detecting the gravitational influence on an object. There s nothing that we are sending out that can be interfered with. Detection of stealth Aircraft Emmanuel David Tannenbaum in his paper: Gravimetric Radar: Gravity-Based Detection of a Point-Mass Moving in a Static Background, discussed a novel approach for detecting stealth aircraft, UAVs, cruise, and ballistic missiles. This method exploits the fact that all massive objects generate a gravitational field, and that a moving object will lead to a time-varying gravitational field that can be measured at various points. By measuring this time-varying field at a sufficient number of points, it is possible to obtain the mass, position, and velocity of the object by solving a system of nonlinear algebraic equations. This approach has an advantage over other detection methods, in that, because it is impossible to hide or shield a gravitational field, this method should be much more difficult, if not impossible, to counter, than other methods. The main drawback is that it requires the ability to detect gravitational fields that are four to five orders of magnitude weaker than what is possible with current gravimetric devices.

7 In order for gravity-based detection to emerge as a practical method for detecting moving objects, it will be necessary to develop devices that can detect gravitational fields several orders of magnitude weaker than what is possible with current instruments. One possible approach for the development of a gravimetric device with the required sensitivity relies on a quantummechanical effect known as gravity-induced quantum interference. Gravity-induced quantum interference is an interference phenomenon that occurs when a particle interferes with itself after traveling along two paths with differing potential energies in a gravitational field. DARPA selects Lockheed Martin to develop sensor system that can locate and identify underground targets by spotting gravity-based effects from an airborne platform. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Lockheed Martina $4.8 million contract to design a sensor system that can locate and identify underground targets by spotting gravity-based effects from an airborne platform. Under DARPA s Gravity Anomaly for Tunnel Exposure (GATE) program, Lockheed Martin will develop a prototype sensor and system that can detect, classify, and characterize subterranean threats such as tunnels, bunkers, and caches. The sensor system incorporates a gravity gradiometer, an instrument which measures the tiny variations in the pull of

8 gravity. The GATE sensor will detect those variations to discriminate a man-made void from naturally-occurring features such as topography and geology, yielding a near real-time map of what is underground. Our expertise in gravity gradiometers will help increase the capability to detect and characterize subterranean tactical threats by its anomalous gravity signature, said Dr. James Archibald, General Manager of Lockheed Martin s Niagara Operation. This capability will help prevent both underground infiltration of secure perimeters and tactical underground operations, keeping our assets and troops protected. Gravity gradiometer systems have historically been used for a variety of applications, including natural resource exploration, navigation, and underground detection. The gravity gradiometer technology measures small differences in the earth s density. These variations in density yield information on geologic structures, which are indicative hosts of ore bodies or oil and gas deposits, and even voids For more than three decades, the Gravity Systems team in Niagara Falls has provided the world s only moving-base gravity gradiometer capabilities. Applications range from defense to commercial markets for hydrocarbon and natural resource exploration. However a recent report of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) found, while some systems may be near-ready, that doesn t mean they fit into the Air Force concept of operations. As an example, Dahm said that the oil and gas

9 industry is using quantum gravity gradiometers to search for areas with reservoirs of oil. That s off-the-shelf technology available now but it requires the plane to fly low to the ground, which is likely at odds with Air Force operations. References and Resources also include: