Türkiye Lays Out a National Quantum Roadmap, Naming 85 Priority Technologies Across Computing, Sensing and Communication

Insider BriefTürkiye has set out a detailed plan for entering the global quantum race, publishing a national roadmap that names 85 specific technologies the country intends to pursue across the three pillars of the field — computing, sensing and communication. The document, the Quantum Technologies OTAĞ Result Report, was produced by the Presidency of Defense Industries (Savunma Sanayii Başkanlığı, or SSB) and released in June 2026.The report is the output of an initiative known as OTAĞ — an acronym for Odak Teknoloji Ağı, or Focus Technology Network — the SSB’s recurring method for building technology roadmaps in priority fields. Coordinated by the agency’s R&D and Technology Management Department, the quantum edition was launched on December 25, 2024, and formally closed exactly one year later, on December 25, 2025.According to the report, the process brought together approximately 305 experts from 123 separate institutions, including ministries, TÜBİTAK (Türkiye’s national science agency), universities, research institutes and private companies. The launch event alone drew around 300 attendees from 14 public institutions, 64 universities and research centers, and 20 firms.The report is candid about where the country already has footing and where it does not.In computing, the near-term priority is quantum security and cryptography. The roadmap explicitly cites the threat that quantum computers pose to classical schemes such as RSA and ECC via algorithms like Shor’s and Grover’s, and flags the “harvest now, decrypt later” risk, which is the prospect that encrypted data captured today could be decrypted once hardware matures. The report indicates that Türkiye’s strong tradition in mathematics and computer science gives it an early advantage in hardware-independent areas, including quantum algorithms, optimization, machine learning, hybrid software and simulation. It also stresses the need to build a national quantum software library, noting growing restrictions on access to open-source toolkits like IBM‘s Qiskit, Xanadu‘s PennyLane and Google‘s Cirq.In sensing — described as the most mature of the three pillars and closest to commercialization — the near-term focus is on quantum magnetometers, quantum imaging, inertial navigation systems (for GPS-denied operation) and atomic clocks. The report says Türkiye already has working competencies in metrology, atomic clocks, single-photon detectors, and NV-center and atomic-gas-cell magnetometers, while treating quantum radar, quantum LIDAR and space-based quantum sensors as longer-horizon prototypes.In communication, the near-term priorities center on secure quantum communication protocols and modules, hybrid security infrastructure that combines quantum key distribution (QKD) with post-quantum cryptography (PQC), and cryptography resistant to quantum attack. Longer-term, the group points to harder problems — quantum repeaters, quantum-resistant internet protocols and the coherent quantum memories needed to underpin a future quantum internet.The roadmap situates Türkiye’s effort against a global backdrop of accelerating investment. Drawing on open sources including the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and McKinsey’s Quantum Technology Monitor 2025, the report estimates cumulative global public funding for quantum at roughly $45 billion, with Japan alone accounting for about $7.4 billion and Australia committing some $550 million to photonic-computing firm PsiQuantum. Venture-capital funding, it notes, reached around $4.9 billion in 2025, pushing cumulative private investment past $10 billion, with money increasingly flowing to later-stage companies rather than early-stage startups.The report also raises a concern that nations are moving to secure their own quantum supply chains, export controls on critical components are tightening, efforts that are shaping global quantum strategy. Without domestic capability and sustainability, it warns, technological dependence and national-security risk will grow, a rationale that appears to be behind much of Türkiye’s push toward home-grown manufacturing of quantum devices and control electronics.Beyond the roadmap itself, the report describes a set of supporting moves already underway. Türkiye now chairs its national delegation to NATO’s Transatlantic Quantum Community, established in 2024, and has launched a digital portal, the “Türkiye Quantum Platform,” to grow awareness and talent. The SSB also announced a Strategic Competency Development Cooperation Protocol with 11 universities — including Boğaziçi, METU, İstanbul Technical, Koç, Sabancı, Bilkent and Hacettepe — set to be signed in late June 2026, and an international quantum algorithm competition to be announced the same month.The report is explicit that talent is a significant constraint. Its closing recommendations involve that talent development, including the expansion of interdisciplinary graduate programs in quantum engineering and quantum hardware, the funding of international research and internship exchanges, the ability to attract leading researchers to Türkiye with competitive long-term support, and the building of critical shared infrastructure such as advanced nanofabrication, cryogenic test beds and precision-measurement labs.The work was divided into three Focus Working Groups (in Turkish, Odak Çalışma Grubu, or OÇG), mirroring the standard division of the field:The quantum computing group, led by TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM and Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ), drew 170 registered participants and produced 37 candidate topics. The quantum sensing group, the largest with 183 registrants, was co-led by Koç University and the defense-electronics company ASELSAN, and generated 25 topics. The quantum communication group, led by Özyeğin University and the state telecom firm ULAK Haberleşme, registered 152 participants and put forward 23 topics.The composition of that leadership is itself a statement of intent. By placing ASELSAN, TUSAŞ and ULAK Haberleşme alongside academic institutions, the SSB has framed quantum technology as a matter of defense capability and technological sovereignty, themes that run throughout the report under the banner of Türkiye’s “National Technology Initiative” and “Century of Türkiye” vision.Rather than relying solely on discussion, the SSB applied a structured decision-support method that combined three established multi-criteria techniques: DEMATEL, used to map cause-and-effect relationships among evaluation criteria; AHP, used to weight independent criteria through pairwise comparison; and TOPSIS, used to rank the technologies themselves.Each of the 85 candidate technologies was scored against seven main criteria — infrastructure, dual-use potential, global maturity, human capital, criticality, applicability to projects, and supply risk — broken down into 20 sub-attributes. Crucially, the framework calculated two separate values for each technology: a priority score (how important and how urgent) and a maturity horizon (whether it is realistically near-term or long-term). The result was a roadmap that splits the field into 34 near-term and 51 long-term targets.This article relies on a computer translation of the report.TopicsShare Get the latest research, company news, and market intelligence every week. MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLEIBM is an iconic technology pioneer founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company and officially renamed International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. Beyond foundational computing, IBM possesses a deep legacy in aerospace and defense from building the guidance computers and Instrument Unit for NASA's historic Apollo missions to partnering with Airbus on CIMON, the first AI assistant on the ISS.Xanadu is a full-stack developer of quantum photonic processors and an open-source quantum software platform called Strawberry Fields. They have also developed Borealis, a programmable photonic quantum computer with 216 squeezed-state qubits that outperforms the best classical supercomputers at a specific task, available to people everywhere via Xanadu Cloud and Amazon Braket.Google is a global technology powerhouse, founded in 1998, that is actively expanding its footprint into aerospace. The company pioneers AI driven satellite telemetry analysis, collaborates with the The Aerospace Corporation, researches space weather forecasting, and tests orbital data center concepts like Project Suncatcher. Google’s Project Suncatcher is an aerospace "moonshot" exploring orbital data centers. It envisions constellations of solar-powered satellites operating in sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO).PsiQuantum is aiming to build the first general purpose quantum computer using silicon photonic qubits.Boğaziçi University is a public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, known for its strong emphasis on science, engineering, and technology. It is home to the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, which conducts research in astronomy, astrophysics, and geophysics. The university also supports research in environmental sciences and artificial intelligence through its dedicated institutes. Instruction is conducted in English, and the university is recognized for its participatory governance and international collaborations. Boğaziçi University has a significant impact on scientific research in Turkey and maintains a legacy of academic excellence.The Middle East Technical University (Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi or METU) is one of Turkey's leading and most prestigious public universities. It is renowned for its high academic standards, strong research programs, and a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs.Koç University is ranked highest in Turkey according to the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and 2022 QS World University Rankings. The university offers 22 undergraduate, 29 graduate, and 30 PhD programs in various fields, including social sciences and humanities, administrative sciences and economics, science, engineering, law, nursing, and medicineSabancı University is a private research university in Istanbul, Turkey, established in 1994. It offers interdisciplinary education and conducts research in engineering, natural sciences, arts, social sciences, and business. The university is known for its innovative approach, including a departmentless structure and a strong emphasis on research and industry collaboration.

Its Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Research and Application Center (SU IMC) and Nanotechnology Research and Application Center support advanced research in manufacturing, materials, aviation, defense, and nanotechnology. Sabancı University aims to bridge academia and industry, contributing to technological development and education in Turkey and internationally.ASELSAN is a company of Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, established in 1975 in order to meet the communication needs of the Turkish Armed Forces by national means.More in Research