🇮🇳 Quantum-Secure Comms Take Flight: Airborne QKD Demonstrated at MCTE Mhow 📌 WHAT: C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing), led by Dr. Anindita Banerjee, successfully demonstrated a fully device-independent, entanglement-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system — integrated with Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) — using an airborne quantum payload carried by an unmanned aerial system (UAS), at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE), Mhow. 🏢 WHO: C-DAC (@cdacindia); Dr. Anindita Banerjee (lead); UAS platform contributed by Sagar Defence Engineering (@SagarDefence); hosted at MCTE, Mhow 📅 WHEN: Reported 23 Oct 2026 🎯 WHAT IS THIS? (IN SIMPLE WORDS) Quantum Key Distribution lets two parties share an encryption key using the physics of quantum entanglement — any attempt to intercept the key physically disturbs the quantum state, making eavesdropping detectable rather than just difficult. Doing this from an airborne platform rather than fixed fibre-optic cable means the secure key can be distributed to mobile or field-deployed ground stations — relevant for military communications where you can't always lay down dedicated fibre. This demonstration proved the full chain: drone-based key distribution → encrypted file transfer → successful decryption at the ground station, in real time. ⚙️ TECH SPECS • QKD approach: fully device-independent, entanglement-based — a more advanced/secure QKD variant than simpler protocols (like B92), since it doesn't require trusting the internal workings of the quantum devices themselves • Integration: combined with Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) — a hybrid approach pairing quantum-physics-based key distribution with cryptographic algorithms designed to resist future quantum-computer attacks • Platform: airborne quantum payload on a UAS (contributed by Sagar Defence Engineering), distributing entanglement-based keys to ground stations • Demonstrated capability: secure, real-time encrypted file transfer with successful decryption at the receiving end • Attendees: Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi (Commandant, MCTE); Brig R.S. Randhawa; Brig Deven Makhija; Lt Col Mayank Joshi; Prof R.M. Bodade; Dr. Amit Barve; Prof Vimal Bhatia (IIT Indore); Dr. Shashi Prabhakar (Physical Research Laboratory) 🧠 OUR ANALYSIS • This builds directly on C-DAC's existing MeitY-funded "Agile and Adhoc Quantum Communication using Drone" programme, also led by Dr. Banerjee — earlier work in that programme demonstrated drone-linked hybrid quantum/classical networks and mobile free-space QKD links, so this MCTE demonstration reads as a meaningful advance (device-independent, entanglement-based QKD + PQC) rather than a one-off event. • Device-independent QKD is a technically harder, more secure variant than most earlier demonstrated protocols — if this proof-of-concept holds up under further testing, it's a genuine step up in sophistication for India's quantum communications programme. • Holding this at MCTE (the Army's premier telecom/signals training institution) rather than a civilian lab signals this is being evaluated with military field application specifically in mind. ❓ WHAT WE DON'T KNOW • Technical performance figures (key rate, QBER, link distance/altitude) for this specific demonstration • Timeline toward any operational deployment or further field trials • Independent (non-participant) verification beyond Sagar Defence Engineering's own announcement 📷 Credit: Sagar Defence Engineering (@SagarDefence) #QuantumSecureComm #QKD #PQC #CDAC #MCTE #AtmanirbharBharat #DefencewithIndia