Defense Innovation Agency appoints head of Defense Quantum Campus | Sea and Navy

The Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs continues to structure its action in the field of quantum technologies with the appointment of General Armaments Engineer (IGA) Xavier Grison at the head of the Quantum Defense Campus.

• New quantum technologies are the subject of a geostrategic competition whose outcome will reshape the military, diplomatic and economic balance of power between the “great powers”.
• In this context, the Defense Innovation Agency (AID) recently acquired a Defense Quantum Campus and the Defense Quantum Laboratory intended to develop quantum technologies and bring together the entire ecosystem: researchers, industrialists, investors and stakeholders. of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs.
• The head of the Quantum Defense Campus will have the mission of accelerating the operational use of quantum, by developing synergies between the different actors and by building a global and coherent vision of quantum defense.
   

Announced during the France Quantum event in June 2025, the creation of the Defense Quantum Campus and the Defense Quantum Laboratory reflects the desire of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs to accelerate the development of quantum technologies for the benefit of the armed forces. Â These two new entities, attached to AID, are positioned at the service of the entire ministry.

On the one hand, the Quantum Defense Campus, under the leadership of IGA Xavier Grison, aims to bring together and unite the quantum community around defense and sovereignty issues as well as to develop national and international partnerships. At the same time, the Quantum Defense Laboratory led by Yoanna-Reine Nowicki-Bringuier since December 2025, is responsible for exploring new capabilities and evaluating the potential uses of quantum technologies for the benefit of armies, in close cooperation with the academic and industrial ecosystem.

The Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), supported since 2018 by AID, is carrying out numerous work in the field of quantum technologies. The most advanced developments concern in particular quantum sensors, whether atomic clocks, gravimeters or even spectrum analyzers, technologies whose prospects for operational use are particularly promising for their future integration into the operational capabilities of the armies on the horizon of the next decade. This acceleration is also supported financially by the granting of an additional 200 million euros, bringing the envelope to 320 million euros as announced by Catherine Vautrin, Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans during the Quantum Defense Forum on April 17, 2026. In addition, the president of the Republic also unveiled, on May 22, 2026, the national quantum strategy worth 1 billion euros for quantum via the France 2030 plan, with the objective of 2 prototypes of 1,024 logical qubits by 2032 via the PROQCIMA program.

The Xavier Grison IGA: a profile at the crossroads of research, technological innovation and defense issues

A polytechnician and doctor in solid state physics, IGA Xavier Grison joined the French Navy as shift manager on a patrol boat before completing a thesis devoted to superconductivity. Then he joined the DGA in 2001 as head of the “microsystems” field within the “components” department.

During his career, he held several positions of responsibility in the fields of electronic components, materials, energy and the environment, while representing France within several European bodies dedicated to defense technologies.

In 2017, he was appointed director of the DGA Hydrodynamic Techniques center, a national reference for expertise, simulation and testing of French Navy buildings.

After attending the 70th session of the Center for Advanced Military Studies (CHEM), he joined the General Secretariat of the Sea in 2021 as cyber mission manager, master plan for the coast guard and deep seabed function.

From 2023 to 2026, he serves as vice-president of the Permanent Commission for Programs and Tests (CPPE) of the French Navy and chairs the maritime safety commission.

Its dual scientific and operational culture constitutes a major asset for uniting the quantum defense ecosystem and supporting the emergence of future strategic capabilities based on quantum technologies.

“Quantum opens up a vast and promising field of possibilities. My goal is to bring these innovations into operation in the forces as quickly as possible. To do this, the campus will strengthen synergies between the different players: laboratories, manufacturers, but also investors, operational staff and foreign partners. » – IGA Xavier Grison, head of the Quantum Defense Campus.