Jerry Petersen 
- IonQ will work to bolster its capability to produce Evergreen-05 optical atomic clocks under a contract awarded by DARPA supporting the It’s About Time program
- The same contract calls on IonQ to manufacture 125 Evergreen-05 units for government customers
- It’s About Time seeks to demonstrate at-scale production of quantum technologies through the establishment of a pilot manufacturing pipeline for tactical-grade optical clocks
IonQ said Thursday that it has received a contract extension worth $28 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for the It’s About Time program, whose goal is to demonstrate the capability to produce quantum and quantum-enabling technologies at scale.
Commenting on the effort, It’s About Time Program Manager Mukund Vengalattore said, “No one has successfully attempted to scale quantum manufacturing because integrating, miniaturizing, and ruggedizing the complex, quantum-adjacent components, such as advanced lasers and integrated photonics, is exceptionally difficult even within a single prototype – let alone at scale.”
“Solving this manufacturing, ruggedization, and integration bottleneck is a DARPA-level problem that will open the door to a large opportunity space across several areas relevant to the Department of War,” Vengalattore added.
What Will IonQ Deliver Under the DARPA Contract?
To demonstrate quantum manufacturing at scale, the It’s About Time program aims to establish a pilot manufacturing pipeline for tactical-grade optical clocks. IonQ’s role is to advance its ability to produce the Evergreen-05 optical atomic clock by investing $15 million on production space, manufacturing equipment, testing capabilities and support staff.
A production facility is expected to be open by mid-2027.
The company will also deliver 125 units of the atomic clocks to U.S. government customers. Deliverable production units are expected to be available within a year after the facility’s completion.
What Is Evergreen-05?
Evergreen-05 is an optical atomic clock that works to deliver timing stability of 50 femtoseconds at one second and nanosecond holdover over 10 days. It comes in a 5-liter, shoe box-sized form factor.
Evergreen-05 was originally developed under DARPA’s Robust Optical Clock Network program, which It’s About Time builds on. The atomic clock was prototyped by Vector Atomic, which was acquired by IonQ in October 2025.
Commenting on the acquisition and the It’s About Time program, IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi said, “We added Vector Atomic to the IonQ family because their clocks and sensors are the best in the world. DARPA’s investment under the It’s About Time program confirms to us that we made the right choice.”
