UBITECH, together with its quantum technology subsidiary QUBITECH, announces the official launch of ORQESTRA (Orchestrating the Operational Deployment of Quantum Resistant Services for Next-Generation Secure Defence Systems and Communications), a flagship European Defence Fund (EDF) research initiative that marks a transformative step in securing Europe’s defence infrastructure against quantum-era cyber threats. The project officially kicked off with a consortium meeting hosted by UBITECH in Athens on January 29-30, 2026. ORQESTRA represents one of the most ambitious European initiatives in the convergence of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD) technologies for defence applications. With a total duration of 36 months spanning from December 2025 to November 2028, the project brings together leading European defence organizations, research institutions, and technology innovators under the coordination of UBITECH and the technical coordination of QUBITECH. The project operates under Grant Agreement number 101224573.
At the heart of ORQESTRA lies a comprehensive vision to deliver fully optimized, operational, and formally verified implementations of an ensemble of post-quantum cryptographic algorithms and protocols. These include key encapsulation mechanisms, digital signatures, authenticated key exchange protocols, authorization frameworks, identity management systems, long-term data security solutions, and multi-party secure computation capabilities. The project aims to provide a fully functional equivalent of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) that is robust against future algorithmic breakthroughs and quantum computing advances while remaining practical enough for integration into today’s legacy defence systems.
Beyond standalone PQC implementations, ORQESTRA pioneers the operational deployment of QKD technologies over zero-trust software-defined programmable infrastructures by orchestrating the seamless co-existence between quantum links and PQC-protected classical communication channels. This novel quantum-security paradigm enables fully functional quantum-safe communication networks with practical security guarantees over long distances and existing legacy infrastructures, addressing one of the most critical challenges facing modern defence organizations.
The project’s technical scope encompasses multiple breakthrough innovations. ORQESTRA will develop fully-fledged designs and operational implementations of PQC algorithms and quantum-resistant protocols under different design modalities, ensuring adaptability across various military-driven use cases. Utilizing a novel software and hardware co-design methodology supported by a hybrid Trusted Computing Base, the project will deliver a comprehensive Software Development Kit directly tailored to the requirements of military equipment and resource-constrained devices. This SDK will feature a complete set of countermeasures against the most current threat landscape, with particular emphasis on physical and side-channel attacks, alongside application-oriented PQC recommendation capabilities.
Recognizing the computational constraints of many defence devices, ORQESTRA will offer a groundbreaking Post-Quantum-as-a-Service (PQCaaS) modality, enabling devices with limited capabilities to securely offload resource-intensive PQC mathematical operations to the cloud, simultaneously enhancing both performance and security postures. The project will also develop shared hardware-based accelerators and programmable software optimizations for NIST-standardized quantum-resistant cryptographic families, including lattice-based and hash-based cryptography, as well as advancing alternate PQC schemes such as code-based cryptography. This shared hardware acceleration strategy will support the creation of versatile crypto-accelerators capable of enhancing adaptability and resource efficiency across multiple cryptosystems with the same hardware, promoting practical crypto-agility in defence applications.
At the network level, ORQESTRA will design and operationally deploy dynamic QKD networking protocols based on the co-existence of quantum and PQC-protected classical links. The project pursues two critical objectives: first, the design of Software Defined Networks (SDN)-assisted QKD protocols capable of operating over legacy network infrastructures, and second, building upon the zero-trust security paradigm by removing assumptions about the trustworthiness of all communicating nodes. By capitalizing on SDN capabilities for providing dynamic optimal and trust-aware switching and rerouting, ORQESTRA will overcome the inherent limitations of QKD technologies and enable full connectivity of both quantum and classical nodes using PQC-based authenticated and encrypted channels.
The project incorporates a comprehensive zero-trust architecture for secure path establishment, featuring continuous device attestation and trust assessment mechanisms across all nodes within communication paths. This ensures that each node maintains a secure, trusted configuration free from unauthorized tampering or malicious interference. By providing verifiable security proofs and trust evidence at each node, ORQESTRA facilitates seamless interactions between quantum and classical infrastructure, ensuring secure and reliable communication throughout defence networks.
Formal verification represents another cornerstone of the ORQESTRA approach. The project will deliver a sophisticated formal analysis framework aimed at verifying the functional correctness of PQC implementations across all considered cryptographic primitives, ensuring comprehensive compliance testing for each subroutine of every cryptosystem. The formal verification methodology will be grounded in validated design assumptions to perform exhaustive analysis against specialized quantum-enhanced intruder models. Customized attack tactics will be developed to assess solution resiliency against Dolev-Yao attacks where unauthorized entities possess maximum knowledge over communication media.
To support defence organizations in their quantum transition journey, ORQESTRA will deliver defence sector-inspired cryptographic asset inventory features designed to enhance the quantum-resistant cybersecurity posture of applications and document requirements for making legacy systems quantum-resistant compliant. A dedicated toolkit will be developed and provided to defence domain partners, enabling comprehensive mapping and assessment of existing cryptographic assets. This toolkit will assist in obtaining crucial information on active encryption processes, cryptographic algorithms in use, key sizes, and the total number of key pairs generated and utilized throughout system lifecycles, enabling industrial defence partners and military organizations to identify and prioritize components most vulnerable to quantum-enhanced cyberattacks.
The ORQESTRA framework will be validated and evaluated across eight real-world military use case scenarios spanning three defence capability domains: Land, Maritime, and Air. The proposed QKD/PQC co-design methodology will be deployed in two distinct Proof-of-Concept evaluation testbeds, showcasing the feasibility of the approach utilizing both typical fiber-optic networks and free space optical communications.
As the coordinating partner of ORQESTRA, UBITECH brings extensive experience in European defence research programmes, having previously participated in EDIDP through PANDORA and in EDF through AInception, TRITON and SEQURED. UBITECH undertakes both project coordination and technical coordination responsibilities, providing technical expertise in the design and implementation of various cryptographic enablers, including encryption and signature schemes based on hash-based post-quantum cryptography. The company will also contribute expertise in software-based and hardware-based Trusted Computing Bases and their synergistic use with the project’s developed methods, while supporting the first Proof-of-Concept evaluation testbed. These technical contributions are being delivered by UBITECH’s Secure Systems & Trusted Computing (SST) Research Group, while overall coordination is handled by the company’s Project Management Office.
QUBITECH, as the technical coordinator (jointly with UBITECH), brings deep expertise in quantum technology simulators, PUF-based security, QKD, PQCaaS, and software and services engineering. The company is engaged in the development, integration, deployment, piloting, demonstration, and evaluation of innovative technologies and processes, providing critical know-how and adapting breakthrough solutions to end-user demands. In ORQESTRA, QUBITECH will provide technical expertise across quantum domains and contribute significantly to the integration and interoperability of the overall project framework while supporting the first Proof-of-Concept evaluation testbed.
“ORQESTRA represents a defining moment in Europe’s journey toward quantum-safe defence systems,” said Dr. Thanassis Giannetsos, Head of the Secure Systems & Trusted Computing Research Group at UBITECH. “The convergence of post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution within a zero-trust architecture addresses the most pressing security challenges facing modern defence organizations. Through ORQESTRA, we are not simply developing theoretical frameworks but delivering practical, operational solutions that can be integrated into existing defence infrastructures today while providing protection against the quantum threats of tomorrow. This project exemplifies the critical role that innovative European SMEs play in advancing defence technological sovereignty.”
“The quantum era demands a fundamental rethinking of how we approach secure communications in defence contexts,” added Dr. Simos Tsintzos, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of QUBITECH. “ORQESTRA’s unique approach of orchestrating the co-existence between quantum and classical security mechanisms represents a pragmatic pathway forward that acknowledges both the transformative potential of quantum technologies and the operational realities of deployed defence systems. By combining our deep expertise in quantum key distribution and post-quantum cryptographic services with UBITECH’s trusted computing capabilities, we are creating solutions that are not only theoretically sound but practically deployable across diverse defence environments. This flagship EDF project positions Europe at the forefront of quantum-resistant defence innovation.”
Funded through the European Defence Fund (EDF), ORQESTRA exemplifies the commitment of the European Union to strengthening defence technological capabilities and ensuring strategic autonomy in critical security domains. The project represents a significant investment in developing sovereign European capabilities in quantum-resistant cryptography and quantum communications for defence applications.
For more information about ORQESTRA and UBITECH’s quantum security research, please visit https://ubitech.eu/qubi/.
