Quantum sensors may eventually strengthen selected verification tasks, but the current evidence is uneven. A cold-atom gravity gradiometer has been tested above a known utility tunnel; navigation components have reached aircraft and ship trials; and nonlinear-interferometer spectroscopy has detected benign vapors in laboratory and open-path experiments. None of these constitutes a documented treaty-inspection deployment, and public comparisons with established instruments remain limited. The near-term priority is therefore not adoption but targeted, independently evaluated pilots with agreed protocols, managed-access designs, and clear rules for how a measurement could become usable evidence.
Bibliographic record
Gräfe, M. (2026). Verification with Quantum Sensing. In: Göttsche, M., Jakob, U., & Schörnig, N. (Eds.). Verification in an Era of Rapid Technological Change. CNTR Monitor – Technology and Arms Control 2026. PRIF – Peace Research Institute Frankfurt.
Author
Prof. Dr. Markus Gräfe
