TOKYO – What if China found a quick and reliable means to “unmask” US stealth fighters? If satellite navigation were knocked out during war, is there another way to help submarines and ships find their way in the oceans?

In the field of military technology, a new and intense arms race is under way between the United States and China. Unlike showy displays of firepower, it is one based on the promise of quantum science. China claims to have had a head start in developing a quantum radar to detect stealth fighters. And both countries are looking to quantum-inspired technologies to safeguard battlefield communications in case satellites are “blinded”.