D-Wave and Lockheed Martin exploring the use of quantum annealing for complex systems verification.
In November 2010, Lockheed Martin Corporation, one of the world’s largest aerospace and defense contractors, signed a multi-year contract with D-Wave Systems, marking the beginning of one of the earliest commercial applications of quantum computing technology. This partnership, officially announced in May 2011, included the purchase of the D-Wave One quantum computer, along with maintenance and professional services. The collaboration established the USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center (QCC) at the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute, creating the first installation of a commercial quantum computing system outside of D-Wave’s headquarters.
Lockheed Martin faced increasingly complex computational challenges in the verification and validation of mission-critical systems. These systems, which control advanced aircraft, spacecraft, and defense platforms, contain millions of lines of code and must operate with near-perfect reliability in demanding environments.
Traditional computing approaches were reaching their limits as system complexity grew exponentially. As Ray Johnson, then Lockheed Martin’s Chief Technology Officer, explained, “In the future, critical systems will become so complex, that problems will take too long or become too expensive to solve using even our most powerful supercomputers”. The company needed to explore fundamentally new computing approaches to address these challenges.
The verification and validation process for complex systems involves checking all possible states and transitions to ensure correct operation under all conditions. This combinatorial explosion of possible states creates an optimization problem well-suited for quantum approaches, but beyond the capabilities of classical computing methods.
The partnership focused on applying D-Wave’s quantum annealing technology to solve complex optimization problems related to verification and validation of control systems. Quantum annealing leverages quantum effects to find the global minimum of a function, making it particularly suited for certain classes of optimization problems.
Unlike universal quantum computers, D-Wave’s systems implement specialized quantum annealing, which excels at solving specific types of optimization problems that can be represented as finding the lowest energy state of a system. While this approach doesn’t address all computing challenges, it offered potential advantages for Lockheed Martin’s specific verification and validation requirements.
The initial implementation utilized D-Wave’s 128-qubit system, which was later upgraded to a 512-qubit processor in 2013, and subsequently to even more powerful systems over the years. Lockheed Martin researchers translated their verification and validation challenges into a form that could be solved on D-Wave’s quantum annealing processors, specifically focusing on problems that could be represented as Ising Spin Glass models.
The implementation began with the establishment of the USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center (QCC) in 2011, housing the first D-Wave One quantum computer. This center, operated jointly by USC’s Information Sciences Institute and Lockheed Martin, created a collaborative environment where researchers from both organizations could explore quantum computing applications.
Lockheed Martin focused on transforming their verification and validation challenges into formats compatible with quantum annealing. This required significant expertise in both quantum computing and systems engineering to properly formulate the problems.
Meanwhile, USC researchers concentrated on fundamental quantum computing research, including testing the quantum nature of the D-Wave system and benchmarking its performance against classical algorithms.
The implementation faced several technical challenges, including the need to maintain extremely low temperatures (near absolute zero) and electromagnetic shielding to preserve the quantum states of the qubits. The QCC team also developed methods to counteract quantum decoherence, which can degrade the performance of quantum processors.
Over the years, the partnership continued to evolve, with system upgrades and expansion of research focus. In 2020, the collaboration was renewed with plans to upgrade to D-Wave’s Advantage system with more than 5,000 qubits, significantly increasing the computational power available to researchers . USC Viterbi In 2022, the QCC became home to the first D-Wave Advantage quantum computer physically located in the United States that was accessible via the Leap quantum cloud service.
The partnership between D-Wave and Lockheed Martin yielded several important outcomes. While early results were “fairly inconclusive” regarding speed advantages over classical computing for certain problems, as noted by USC researcher Daniel Lidar . The Washington Post, the collaboration provided Lockheed Martin with valuable insights into quantum computing’s potential applications.
The project demonstrated that quantum annealing could address certain verification and validation challenges, particularly those related to the problem of verification and validation of control systems. Lockheed Martin researchers also applied the technology to the design of special wave forms for RF applications with minimal side-lobes, expanding the potential use cases.
Beyond specific applications, the partnership positioned Lockheed Martin at the forefront of quantum computing adoption in the aerospace and defense industry. As Greg Tallant, Lockheed Martin Fellow, stated: “For more than 12 years, Lockheed Martin has been proud to support advanced practical quantum computing, putting the technology in the hands of people who can make the most of it”.
The business impact extended beyond immediate technical solutions to include developing organizational capabilities in quantum computing, establishing important academic and industry partnerships, and gaining practical experience with quantum systems that informed Lockheed Martin’s broader quantum computing strategy.
Building on their pioneering quantum computing work with D-Wave, Lockheed Martin has continued to expand its quantum computing initiatives. In 2014, the company established the Quantum Engineering Center at the University of Maryland’s College Park campus, focusing on a different quantum computing approach to complement their work with D-Wave’s quantum annealing systems.
The ongoing partnership with D-Wave and USC continues to evolve, with access to newer generations of quantum processors through D-Wave’s Leap quantum cloud service. This cloud-based approach represents a significant evolution in how Lockheed Martin accesses quantum computing resources, allowing for more flexible and scalable utilisation.
As Kristen Pudenz, quantum research scientist and corporate lead for Quantum at Lockheed Martin, explained: “Our new agreement allows for cloud access to the latest generation of QPUs at all times, helping drive the state-of-the-art forward, as we develop new capabilities and applications”. This approach enables Lockheed Martin to continue exploring quantum applications while the technology matures, potentially leading to breakthroughs in system verification, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, and other areas critical to the aerospace and defense industry.
Lockheed Martin Corporation. (2011). “Quantum Computing and Systems Verification & Validation.”
D-Wave Systems. (2011). “D-Wave One: The World’s First Commercial Quantum Computer.”
USC Information Sciences Institute. (2011). “USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center.”
Pudenz, K.L. et al. (2014). “Quantum Annealing Correction for Verification and Validation.”