A powerful 50-qubit ion quantum computer has been developed in Russia, marking a significant achievement in the high-tech world.
After all, only six countries globally can boast ownership of such machines.
It is important to note that the United States currently leads the industry, with Quantinuum having developed a 56-qubit computer. However, Russia’s progress is also evident: in July 2023, Moscow could only claim a 16-qubit model, but it has now reached the milestone of 50 qubits.
Quantum computers are being developed on various platforms worldwide, and Russia possesses technology across all key areas.
Only three countries have the capability to develop this technology across four priority platforms (superconducting circuits, ions, neutral atoms, and photons). Meanwhile, Russia’s plans for 2030 include developing an ion computer with a speed of 100 qubits.
Quantum computing has immense potential to accelerate solutions to many complex problems that consume excessive resources for classical computers. This applies to big data, forecasting, and cryptography.
Having such computational power provides a significant advantage in technology development, and these benefits explain the intense competition in this field.
Despite the bulkiness and instability of the initial models, quantum technology is being actively improved, reminiscent of the development of early electronic computers.
The key difference with Russia’s device is that it focuses on practical applications as it has been deployed to solve complex problems. Additionally, it is important to note that this technology is being developed domestically, and Moscow has “technological sovereignty.”
Russia claims to achieve many world-leading achievements in scientific and technical fields.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that alongside the development of quantum technology, many other large-scale scientific projects are also underway in Russia.
Notably, a significant advancement is the inauguration of the NICA complex in Dubna – a domestic particle accelerator that is claimed to outperform the famous Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in several aspects.
Moreover, the construction of other important scientific facilities continues, such as the SKIF synchrotron (a circular particle accelerator) near Novosibirsk, the RIF synchrotron on Russky Island, and the SILA project in Protvino – a combination of synchrotron and X-ray laser, a unique setup not yet existing in the world.
It is essential to emphasize that Russia has never built so many high-tech scientific complexes in recent history. Currently, there are 50 unique scientific facilities operating domestically, and this number will continue to grow.
With the launch of numerous new facilities in the next 5 to 8 years, the Russian Federation will certainly be able to assert its leadership in global scientific infrastructure if what they claim is accurate and not exaggerated.
