Big Bang Boom Solutions Quantum Radar Plan Targets Indigenous Defence Technology
Big Bang Boom Solutions Quantum Radar is the focus of a new research and development roadmap announced by the Indian deep-tech defence company at IEEE MILCOM 2026, as it explores technologies that could improve radar detection in challenging electromagnetic environments.
The Chennai-based company unveiled the initiative during QuantEW 2026, a workshop on quantum technologies for electronic warfare held on October 12 as part of the IEEE Military Communications Conference in the Washington, DC area. Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Shivaraman Ramaswamy outlined the company’s plans to develop quantum radar technology, including a roadmap for moving from research towards experimental demonstrations.
The initiative brings together quantum technology and electronic warfare research at a time when defence organisations are looking for new ways to detect targets amid noise, interference and electronic countermeasures.
However, quantum radar remains an emerging research area. Big Bang Boom Solutions places its programme at Technology Readiness Level 3 and is targeting levels 4–5 over approximately 24 months. The announcement represents a development plan, not a claim that an operational quantum radar is already available.
Big Bang Boom Solutions Quantum Radar Focuses on Quantum Illumination
The proposed programme centres on quantum illumination radar, a research approach that uses quantum properties of light to investigate whether weak signals can be detected more effectively against strong background noise.
In a simplified description, quantum illumination involves generating correlated signal and reference photons. A signal is directed towards a potential target, while a retained reference can be used when analysing the returning signal. Researchers investigate whether the correlations provide an advantage when distinguishing a target return from background noise.
This is relevant to radar research because conventional systems can face difficult detection conditions when targets have low radar signatures or when interference complicates the received signal.
Theoretical research has identified potential advantages for quantum illumination in certain noisy environments. Translating those results into a practical radar system, however, involves substantial engineering challenges, including the generation and detection of suitable quantum states and the management of signal losses.
Big Bang Boom Solutions is seeking to investigate how the underlying science could be developed into a defence-oriented technology. The extent of any real-world detection advantage will need to be established through experiments and subsequent testing.
Big Bang Boom Solutions Quantum Radar Addresses Electronic Warfare Challenges
Electronic warfare involves the use of electromagnetic energy to detect, disrupt or deceive systems that depend on radio-frequency signals. Radar, communications equipment and navigation technologies can all be affected by interference or deliberate attempts to manipulate their signals.
For radar operators, the challenge is not simply detecting a signal but distinguishing a genuine target from noise, clutter and potentially deceptive signals.
Quantum illumination is being studied as one possible way to improve detection under some difficult conditions. Its potential relevance to defence applications has attracted interest because future sensing systems may need to operate in increasingly contested electromagnetic environments.
Nevertheless, quantum radar should not be treated as a proven solution to stealth technology or electronic jamming. Theoretical advantages do not automatically translate into a field-ready capability, and performance depends on the design of the complete system and the conditions in which it operates.
Big Bang Boom Solutions’ roadmap is intended to explore this gap between scientific research and practical engineering.
Big Bang Boom Solutions Quantum Radar Roadmap Targets Experimental Validation
The company currently places its quantum radar programme at Technology Readiness Level 3, a stage associated with experimental proof of concept. It aims to reach TRL 4–5 within approximately two years.
These levels generally correspond to validating technology components in a laboratory environment and demonstrating them in a more relevant experimental setting. Reaching them would represent progress in development, rather than proof of an operational system suitable for deployment.
The company’s longer-term objectives include platform-mounted demonstrators and, eventually, an operational prototype. Those milestones would require additional research, engineering and validation beyond the current programme stage.
One of the significant technical barriers is the cryogenic infrastructure associated with some quantum sensing approaches. Maintaining the conditions required by specialised quantum components can complicate system design, increase size and power requirements, and make deployment outside a laboratory more difficult.
The roadmap therefore involves not only demonstrating a possible sensing advantage but also assessing whether the underlying technology can be engineered into a practical defence system.
Big Bang Boom Solutions Quantum Radar Brings Researchers Together at IEEE MILCOM
The company organised QuantEW 2026 as a dedicated forum for research at the intersection of quantum technology, electronic warfare and secure military communications.
The workshop was held as part of IEEE MILCOM 2026, which brings together participants from industry, academia, defence organisations and government research communities. According to the announcement, submitted papers underwent peer review, with accepted workshop papers scheduled for publication in the conference proceedings and IEEE Xplore.
The event provided a setting for researchers to discuss both the potential of quantum-enhanced sensing and the technical barriers that remain.
Collaboration will be important in this field because progress requires expertise spanning quantum physics, photonics, signal processing, materials, systems engineering and defence applications. No single technology component is sufficient to deliver a complete radar system.
Big Bang Boom Solutions has said it welcomes collaboration with universities, government laboratories and industry partners as it works through the research challenges identified in its roadmap.
Big Bang Boom Solutions Quantum Radar Supports India’s Indigenous Defence Ambitions
The initiative aligns with the broader effort to develop defence technologies in India and strengthen domestic capabilities in strategic systems.
Big Bang Boom Solutions develops technologies for defence, homeland security and dual-use applications. Its existing work spans electronic warfare, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and counter-drone technologies. The company also says it has secured eight projects through the Indian government’s Innovations for Defence Excellence, or iDEX, initiative.
Quantum radar represents a more exploratory research effort than a mature product deployment. Its potential strategic importance lies in whether it can eventually provide useful sensing capabilities while being engineered for practical operation.
Developing indigenous expertise in advanced sensing could support India’s wider technology ecosystem, but research announcements should be distinguished from demonstrated performance, procurement decisions or operational adoption.
For now, the company’s quantum radar programme remains an early-stage development effort. The next meaningful indicators of progress will be experimental validation, advances in system integration and evidence that the technology can move beyond laboratory research.
Big Bang Boom Solutions’ announcement at IEEE MILCOM 2026 places quantum radar on its longer-term development agenda. Whether that ambition results in a deployable system will depend on how effectively the company and its research partners overcome the scientific and engineering challenges ahead.