World-1st stable deployment of atomic clock on HMS Puncher completed

Aquark Technologies, a UK quantum sensing specialist, has completed the world’s first stable deployment of a cold-atom-based atomic clock, called AQlock, on a moving maritime platform—the Royal Navy’s Archer-class patrol vessel HMS Puncher. The AQlock operated continuously over three days in the Solent area, marking a significant milestone for Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) technology. This trial, supported by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and funded in part by Innovate UK’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), demonstrated the clock’s stability and robustness in harsh offshore conditions, aiming to reduce global reliance on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The AQlock improves conventional PNT by leveraging atoms cooled to near absolute zero to stabilize a conventional oscillator, thereby reducing long-term drift and maintaining high precision without frequent GNSS corrections. Aquark’s unique supermolasses trap technology underpins the system, making it highly robust, portable, more affordable, and suitable