Indra Group advances Europe's leadership in quantum communications for Defence and Space

Indra Group is reinforcing its leadership in secure communications and quantum technologies, responding to the growing need for robust, sovereign solutions to protect critical infrastructure across Europe. The company is accelerating the deployment of quantum-secure technologies for both defence and civil use, ensuring the resilience and trustworthiness of communication networks in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.

With the integration of the capabilities of its Space subsidiary in Portugal into those already existing in the company, Indra Group is leading the development and integration of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technologies, which provide tamper-proof communication by enabling secure key exchange over quantum channels. These efforts are part of several high-profile European initiatives, including the DISCRETION project and participation in the NATO-led REPMUS exercise series.

DISCRETION, a €6 million project funded under the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP), successfully demonstrated a quantum-secure network for military use. The system integrates Software-Defined Networking (SDN) with QKD technologies to secure tactical and strategic communications across domains and borders. The demonstration, held in Brussels, showcased encrypted messaging capabilities, resilience against cyber threats and operational flexibility—key requirements for future-proof European defence infrastructures. DISCRETION brings together key European players, including institutions from Portugal, Spain, Austria and Italy, and exemplifies European collaboration in quantum-secure networking.

Indra’s quantum-secure capabilities were also successfully validated in the international REPMUS exercise, reinforcing its strategic commitment to NATO and other allied frameworks. These demonstrations highlighted quantum-encrypted messaging, key management and multi-node network resilience—cornerstones of the emerging secure communications architecture. The company is also leading the NATO working group on military use cases for QKD, underlining its relevance in strategic defence dialogues.

In parallel, Indra Group is equipping the European Commission’s cyber risk management centre with COMSec, a secure communication system developed in-house to withstand future quantum computing threats, and is developing a technological framework in the PQReact project to facilitate the transition to post-quantum cryptography in critical infrastructures. These further underscores Indra's commitment to protecting critical assets in the face of evolving technological risks.

Indra Group participates in the European Quantum Communications Infrastructure (EuroQCI), coordinating the Portuguese Quantum Communications Infrastructure (PTQCI) and taking part in the deployment of the infrastructure in Spain (EuroQCI Spain), where it is integrating its key manager (KMS) adapted to this type of technology.

In the Space sector, the company brings comprehensive expertise in QKD technology in both LEO and GEO orbits, ranging from system architecture and key exchange protocols to optical terminals and network integration. The company's work spans both terrestrial and space domains, ensuring compatibility and performance in future quantum-enabled environments.

With the creation of Indra Space, Indra Group is advancing to become one of the largest space companies on the continent, covering the complete value-chain of a space project, from mission design through satellite development and manufacturing, ground segment design, deployment and mission operations.

By bringing together its long-standing engineering and systems integration capabilities under Indra Space, the company is well positioned to deliver secure, scalable and sovereign communications for a post-quantum world. Its continued investment in advanced communications ensures Europe remains at the forefront, guaranteeing its technological sovereignty and defence readiness.