Chinese quantum breakthrough could neutralize American aircraft carriers

Q-Day – a fresh frontier of technological warfare

Analysts inform that conventional force projection tools – specified as aircraft carriers or F-35 fighters – they may shortly lose meaning to Next generation of weapons: quantum computers. Predicted for the 1930s moment, called ‘Q-Day’It's a time erstwhile quantum machines can break any classical cryptography systemsmaking useless current digital security.

"Today, a hacker steals money from your account. With quantum technology – steals all the bank's vaults”, he says Jesse Van GriensvenPresident of EigenQ and lecturer at Waterloo University.

According to experts, China invests heavily in this technology – in March 2025 the head of the Chinese improvement plan, Zheng Shanjie, announced the creation of a fund of value 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) to support “hard technologies”, including quantum calculations.

Collect today, decrypt tomorrow

The top threat lies not in an immediate attack, but in China's long-term strategy – "harvest now, decrypt later". As he emphasizes Ryan Fedasiuk from the American Enterprise Institute, Chinese Service They've been collecting data for decades. – including cryptographically protected – waiting for the minute erstwhile quantum computers let them to be decrypted.

Current algorithms, specified as RSA, are based on mathematical difficulties that would take classical supercomputers to unravel centuries. The quantum computer will execute this task in days or weeks.

"Chinese safety services can apply quantum computing rules to decrypt files that have already been stolen from the US," said Fedasiuk.

As a result, secret military data, operational plans, satellite data or drone communications – so far considered safe – can be reproduced on the basis of previously collected data.

Chinese advantage in quantum communication

Unlike calculations, Quantum communication – in peculiar the distribution of quantum keys (QKD) - There he is. Highly advanced in China. Beijing built The world's largest quantum communications network, connecting Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and another cities – this strategy offers Communication In theory, unbreakable.even resistant to quantum attacks.

"The Chinese government finances quantum communications on a scale that no another country in the planet has," she said. Morgan Peirce from Center for a fresh American Security.

Meanwhile, the United States and allies They're just starting to upgrade.. In 2022 the president Joe Biden issued a decree ordering Federal agencies control to quantum decoding-resistant algorithms au 2035 – due to the fact that that's when, according to U.S. services, it could appear first cryptographically related quantum computer.

Strategic impacts: from failure of control to confusion

If USA or Japan They won't be able to upgrade their communications systems before Q-Day, and China will be given priority, the consequences may, according to American experts, be disastrous:

• Aircraft carriers and drones may be hacked and diverted to any location,
• C4ISR systems (command, control, communications, reconnaissance) – paralyzed,
• Critical infrastructure – power plants, airports, telecommunications networks – can be disabled remotely.

"Without US computers, they will return to the Stone Age – without a shot," warns Van Griensven.

Is that an inevitable scenario?

Expert Lindsay Gorman from the German Marshall Fund notes that although universal, error-resistant quantum computer can actually give ‘key to all secrets’, its effective application requires keeping a secret and strategical surprise.

"As shortly as we fishy that individual is winning the race, we run emergency programs. We can avoid apocalyptic scenarios – if we start now.”

Source:

1. Nikkei Asia – China’s quantum leaf will eclipse US aircraft carriers, analysts say, https://asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/cybersecurity/china-s-quantum-leap-will-eclipse-us-aircraft-carriers-analysts-say
2. Center for a fresh American safety (CNAS) – Quantum Computing and National Security, November 2025, https://www.cnas.org
3. White home – National safety Memorandum on Post-Quantum Cryptography, May 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov
4. American Enterprise Institute – The Quantum Threat to U.S. Military Systems, October 2025, https://www.aei.org

Leszek B. Glass

Email: [email protected]

© www.chiny24.com