IonQ wins $28M DARPA contract to deliver 125 atomic clocks

IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) has been awarded a $28 million contract extension through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's It's About Time program to produce and deliver 125 Evergreen-05 optical atomic clocks to U.S. government customers, according to a company statement.

The clocks are intended for mission-critical applications including radar, secure communications, and precision geolocation. IonQ said it will invest $15 million in dedicated production space, manufacturing equipment, testing capabilities, and support staff to fulfill the deliveries.

The Evergreen-05 is a compact optical atomic clock with a 5-liter form factor. The company states it delivers timing stability of 50 femtoseconds at one second and nanosecond holdover over 10 days, projecting a timing error of less than one second over 30 million years. IonQ claims the clock provides performance comparable to active hydrogen masers in long-term drift while offering superior phase noise and short-term stability at 1/75th of the volume.

DARPA's support for the underlying technology began in 2019, when it funded Vector Atomic, then a startup based in Pleasanton, California. IonQ acquired Vector Atomic in October 2025 to expand into quantum position, navigation, and timing.

"DARPA has been a partner every step of the way. That initial support was critical to prove the core concepts of our clock," said Marty Boyd, director of IonQ's timekeeping division and co-founder of Vector Atomic. "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."

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