Introduction
This proposed initiative focuses on cryptographic agility and post-quantum transition for high-assurance communication systems. The concept addresses the need to preserve confidentiality, authentication, integrity and interoperability across long-lived defence and dual-use platforms while cryptographic standards and threat assumptions evolve.
2026 Strategic Relevance
Defence demand for quantum-safe communications is becoming more explicit. NATO’s January 2026 Alliance Digital Strategy calls for accelerated adoption of PQC, and NATO experimentation in 2025 included quantum-safe communication use cases in operational settings. For an EDF-oriented concept, this reinforces the importance of mission assurance, interoperability, accreditation, hybrid transition and constrained/tactical environments. QSD’s proposed contribution should therefore focus on testable transition architecture and cryptographic lifecycle governance rather than presenting PQC as a standalone communications product.
Project Objective
- Map cryptographic dependencies across secure communication components and trust services.
- Evaluate hybrid transition patterns that support phased adoption and interoperability.
- Develop architecture principles for crypto-agile, high-assurance communications.
- Test resilience, fallback and migration sequencing in representative environments.
Proposed Workstreams
- Operational and interoperability requirements
- Cryptographic architecture and trust services
- PQC / hybrid protocol integration
- Performance and resilience validation
- Lifecycle, certification and governance considerations
QSD Contribution
QSD’s proposed contribution focuses on crypto-agile communications architecture, trust-service dependency analysis and phased hybrid/PQC migration for high-assurance environments. Particular emphasis would be placed on interoperability, fallback design, lifecycle risk and testable migration criteria; any role relating to defence standards, certification or classified environments must be defined with eligible consortium partners and the applicable programme rules.