Quantum Era Warfare: Atul Tripathi Outlines How Quantum Tech Will Reshape India’s National Security

In a recent “Tech Trends” segment on DD National’s DD Morning Show, technocrat and author Er. Atul Tripathi explained how quantum technology is emerging as a decisive factor in future warfare, cyber security, and national resilience. Speaking about themes from his book Quantum Era Warfare, he argued that officers and planners must understand quantum concepts because they will fundamentally alter how information is stored, secured, and exploited in defence and strategic systems.​​

Tripathi highlighted that qubits, superposition and entanglement enable processors that can handle information in entirely new ways, dramatically increasing computational power while enabling ultra‑secure communication channels. He warned that current encryption schemes are at risk, as quantum capabilities can break many classical cryptographic protections in seconds, exposing banking records, identity databases like Aadhaar, defence data, power grids and other critical infrastructure if not upgraded in time.​

According to Tripathi, adversaries are already harvesting encrypted data with a “store now, decrypt later” approach, betting on future quantum decryption capabilities to unlock today’s confidential information. He stressed that the response cannot be left to government alone and must involve private tech firms, research and educational institutions, and skill‑development initiatives to build quantum‑safe solutions and applications across sectors such as logistics optimisation for the armed forces, secure submarine detection and communication, healthcare and drug discovery, and financial risk management.​

Tripathi placed India “among the leaders in the race” due to the National Quantum Mission, which coordinates research institutions, startups and large enterprises to build indigenous quantum technologies. He noted that the mission is also reshaping education with new B.Tech minors and M.Tech programmes in quantum technologies, aiming to create a skilled workforce that can turn quantum science into operational capability and strategic advantage for the country.​

Source: DD National – DD Morning Show, “Tech Trends: Quantum Technology and Its Impact on National Security,” featuring Er. Atul Tripathi