# Infleqtion wins £9 million Innovate UK award to move its Rydberg radio sensor toward deployment

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/infleqtion-wins-9-million-innovate-uk-award-to-move-its-rydberg-radio-49ea51ff
Date: 14 Oct 2026
About: [Infleqtion](https://technooptimist.io/companies/infleqtion.md)
Original source: https://quantumcomputingreport.com/infleqtion-secures-9-million-12-million-usd-innovate-uk-award-to-transition-rydberg-quantum-rf-sensing-to-operational-deployment/

Innovate UK is funding £9 million (about $12 million) for the second phase of Infleqtion's Quantum Direction Finding program. The goal is to take the Quantum Spectrum-DF system from prototype testing to operational deployment. The system uses Rydberg atoms as optical sensors instead of antenna arrays to locate radio signals.

## Key facts

- Funder: Innovate UK, under the UKRI Quantum Missions Primer framework.
- Quantum Spectrum-DF uses Rydberg atoms as optical sensors in place of a traditional antenna array.
- Developed with Leonardo; aimed at spectrum surveillance, passive radar, resilient navigation and threat geolocation.
- The article gives no timeline for the deployment phase.

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