UK Government Awards £50 Million to Six Quantum Sensing and PNT Firms, 13 October 2026: ColdQuanta UK's Mobile Quantum Radio, Quantum Fabrix's Satellite Clock and MoniRail's GPS-Free Rail Positioning

On October 13, 2026, the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and UKRI announced that six companies share £50 million from the Sensing and Positioning, Navigation and Timing competition, with £20 million more for quantum networking components and £8 million for apprentices. Two winners carry a defense capability: ColdQuanta UK's compact mobile Rydberg quantum radio that locates signals across the spectrum, and Quantum Fabrix's strontium satellite clock for navigation and communications. Both companies already held UKRI prototype contracts from November 2025, the posture is dual-use, and the release gives no per-project amount or performance figure a program office could rely on.