IonQ’s quantum plan builds 125 atomic clocks for U.S. government use

IonQ will deliver 125 Evergreen-05 optical atomic clocks to U.S. government customers following a $28 million contract extension with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. These compact clocks, originally developed under DARPA’s Robust Optical Clock Network program, achieve a timing stability of 50 femtoseconds at one second, projecting to a timing error of less than one second over 30 million years.

“We added Vector Atomic to the IonQ family because their clocks and sensors are the best available,” said IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi. The clocks will support applications including radar, secure communications, and precision geolocation while occupying just 1/75th of the volume of an active hydrogen maser.

DARPA’s $28 Million Contract Fuels Evergreen-05 Clock Production

The company will dedicate $15 million to establishing specialized manufacturing facilities, acquiring testing equipment, and hiring personnel to fulfill the delivery of 125 clocks to U.S. government customers. These compact timekeepers are slated for integration into applications demanding high precision, including advanced radar systems, secure communication networks, and precise geolocation technologies. Compared to traditional active hydrogen masers, which have long been the gold standard for frequency stability, the Evergreen-05 delivers comparable long-term drift alongside superior phase noise, all within a dramatically smaller footprint.

Specifically, the clock occupies only 1/75th of the volume of an equivalent hydrogen maser, a crucial advantage for integration into tactical systems operating in constrained environments. DARPA’s involvement with the core technology underpinning the Evergreen-05 began in 2019, initially supporting Vector Atomic, the startup that originally developed the clock.

IonQ acquired Vector Atomic in October 2025, recognizing the potential to integrate the advanced timekeeping capabilities into its broader quantum platform offerings. The acquisition and subsequent DARPA funding are now expected to accelerate the commercialization and widespread deployment of this technology. The Evergreen-05’s design prioritizes portability and resilience, extending beyond laboratory settings to function effectively across land, maritime, and airborne platforms. This expanded operational range is enabled by its robust construction and broadened environmental tolerances.

Marty Boyd, director of IonQ’s timekeeping division and co-founder of Vector Atomic, emphasized the importance of DARPA’s ongoing support. “DARPA has been a partner every step of the way; that initial support was critical to prove the core concepts of our clock,” Boyd stated. The $28 million contract extension isn’t simply about delivering units, but about establishing a scalable production pipeline.

IonQ’s $15 million investment will focus on building dedicated facilities and acquiring the specialized equipment needed to consistently manufacture clocks meeting the stringent requirements of government applications. This commitment signals a shift from research and development towards full-scale production, suggesting a long-term vision for the technology’s role in critical infrastructure.

“We joined IonQ to accelerate and scale up delivery of our commercial products, and DARPA’s continued support gives us the opportunity to do that,” Boyd added, highlighting the collaborative nature of the project and the shared goal of bringing advanced timekeeping technology to a wider audience.

According to IonQ, DARPA’s investment under the It’s About Time program confirms a strategic alignment between the agency’s goals and the company’s technological advancements, and the program’s continued funding underscores the importance of precise timing for a range of national security applications and validates the potential of the Evergreen-05 to meet those needs.

The clock’s compact size, superior performance, and now, scalable production capabilities, position it as a key component in future timing infrastructure for the U.S. government.