C12 and Thales Win 2026 Quantum Effects Award for QuantumTrack Radar System

Award and Benchmark Result

C12, a French carbon nanotube spin-qubit developer, and Thales received the 2026 Quantum Effects Award in the Quantum Computing Hardware category for QuantumTrack, a hybrid quantum-classical solution for real-time multi-target radar tracking. In the reported benchmark, QuantumTrack matched the time-to-solution of the best classical solver and ran roughly 100 times faster than competing quantum annealers on C12's Callisto emulator, which reproduces the physical behavior of a processor with up to 20 qubits. The project is being presented at the Quantum Effects trade fair in Stuttgart, Germany, on October 6.

Solving the Multi-Hypothesis Tracking Bottleneck

QuantumTrack targets Multiple Hypothesis Tracking (MHT), the standard method for associating radar detections with trajectories. Because the number of candidate scenarios grows exponentially with the number of tracked objects, MHT is NP-hard and classical solvers prune hypotheses at each antenna scan to meet timing limits, sometimes discarding valid scenarios. The partners say this bottleneck is becoming critical as civil drone activity drives demand for new Unmanned Traffic Management systems and as defense radar faces saturation attacks.

How the Hybrid Pipeline Works

Rather than solving the full tracking problem on quantum hardware, the teams split large instances into subproblems suitable for near-term processors, exploiting the high connectivity of C12's spin-cQED architecture, in which carbon nanotube spin qubits are coupled to a microwave resonator. Validations were first carried out on Callisto before any physical-chip run. "Multi-target tracking lies at the heart of next-generation radar, which must operate in increasingly dense environments, whether managing drone traffic or countering emerging threats," said Jean-Marc Divanon, Radar CoE Director at Thales, describing the work as an approach "co-designed all the way from the qubit to the operational system."

Maturity Level and Next Hardware Step

QuantumTrack has reached Technology Readiness Level 5, with C12 and Thales targeting a TRL 6 demonstration on C12's physical processor and eventual defense-system deployment. "This award is first and foremost a recognition of the work we have been doing with Thales for several years," said Pierre Desjardins, CEO and co-founder of C12, adding that QuantumTrack "shows that a quantum processor can take on a real-world operational problem with demanding real-time constraints." The two companies frame the project as part of a broader, ongoing science-and-industry collaboration that also feeds C12's planned Aïdôs processor, targeted for 2027 as its first-generation carbon nanotube spin-qubit chip.

Follow-up Signals

C12 and Thales are scheduled to present QuantumTrack at the Quantum Effects trade fair in Stuttgart on October 6, and the partners have set a TRL 6 demonstration on C12's physical processor as the next verifiable milestone toward potential defense deployment.