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IonQ Gets $7.5M AFRL Phase 2 for Quantum Networking
IonQ says a $7.5 million Phase 2 award from the Air Force Research Laboratory will expand its Rome, New York, quantum network with optical links, converter modules and upgraded control software. The award was included in a previously announ
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“Advanced optical hardware and automated control software are what close the gap between laboratory demonstration and field deployment.”
Jordan Shapiro, IonQ President, Quantum Platform
IonQ says it received $7.5 million in Phase 2 funding from the Air Force Research Laboratory on October 27, 2026, to expand a quantum network in Rome, New York. The work adds optical links, hardware and software intended to connect different kinds of quantum systems beyond laboratory settings. IonQ describes the goal as an operational, interoperable research platform.
Phase 2 extends the Rome network
The first phase established what IonQ calls the network’s core physical foundation. Phase 2 is designed to connect heterogeneous quantum hardware and carry quantum communications over standard telecommunications infrastructure and through open air. The release frames the project as a live-network test, rather than a laboratory-only demonstration.
IonQ compares the planned quantum links with the way classical routers and fiber-optic cables let different computers share data. The Phase 2 enhancements are intended to let distinct quantum systems connect and route quantum communications using both existing telecom infrastructure and open-air links. The release describes this as an expansion of the first-generation network IonQ delivered in Rome, not a report that the expanded network is already operational.
The $7.5 million is not a new addition to the collaboration’s total. IonQ says it announced a $21.1 million collaboration in January 2025 and that the current award was contemplated in that original amount. That distinction makes the new figure a Phase 2 funding allocation, not a supplemental contract on top of the previously announced value.
Optical links and converters target interoperability
The expansion includes a free-space optical system with automatic pointing, acquisition and tracking, or PAT. IonQ says the equipment is intended to distribute entanglement over secure, line-of-sight quantum channels in the C-band spectrum. The release does not give performance results or a completion timetable for the Phase 2 work.
Two quantum frequency converter modules are also planned to support interoperability between different quantum and classical hardware using standard telecom wavelengths. Additional equipment includes O-band-compatible network hardware, improved polarization controls and upgraded quantum network interface cards. Together, those components address the interfaces needed to move quantum signals between systems and communications infrastructure.
The release presents these components as a set of upgrades for metropolitan and defense networks, rather than as separate demonstrations with reported outcomes. It says the work supports AFRL’s broader roadmap for heterogeneous quantum networking and describes potential applications in defense communications, enterprise infrastructure and multi-node quantum networks.
Control software is part of the field test
The software upgrade adds an on-premises control plane for automated self-tests, real-time monitoring, failure handling, experiment execution and results export. That places operational functions alongside the optical and network hardware in the scope of the work. Shapiro, IonQ’s president of Quantum Platform, said the optical equipment and automated software are intended to bridge laboratory demonstrations and field deployment.
IonQ connects the effort to its earlier AFRL work, including an April 2026 photonic-interconnect milestone and an onsite quantum computer deployment in Rome. The company says the new capabilities support AFRL’s work on heterogeneous quantum networking and may serve metropolitan and defense networks. For now, the announcement describes planned equipment and software upgrades; it does not report a completed Phase 2 deployment or measured network performance.