ORQESTRA, a €9.4 million research project on post-quantum cryptography for defence, kicks off with LMT as a key consortium member

A new European Defence Fund (EDF)-supported research project, ORQESTRA, has been launched to address the growing urgency of securing military communications amid rapidly advancing quantum computing technologies. The project brings together an international consortium of research institutions, technology companies, and defence stakeholders from across Europe, with LMT joining as a key consortium member. It will run for 36 months at an estimated total cost of 9.4 million euros.

Quantum capabilities are quickly developing, bringing opportunities but also posing unprecedented threats to current cryptographic solutions. Widely used public-key encryption systems risk becoming vulnerable, threatening data privacy and critical infrastructure. While no quantum computer is yet powerful enough to break today’s cryptography, this is expected to change within the coming years. This creates an immediate need for efficient post-quantum cryptography (PQC) solutions and projects like ORQESTRA. 

ORQESTRA is aiming to make PQC usable in real world systems, including older legacy defence equipment. PQC means encryption and digital signatures that are designed to remain secure even if, in the future, an attacker has access to a powerful quantum computer. 

A big reason this is hard is that “secure in theory” can still be slow or cumbersome in practice. ENISA notes that one integration challenge with PQC is that keys, signatures, and ciphertexts can be larger than what many systems use today, and that switching to PQC is not as simple as swapping one algorithm for another – there are multiple deployment hurdles to overcome. In parallel, the European Commission and Member States have published guidance and a coordinated roadmap for transitioning to PQC because quantum computing is considered a threat to many cryptographic algorithms currently used to protect data confidentiality and authenticity.

The project aims to provide practical, formally verified, and efficient implementation of PQC capabilities in military installations. The consortium partners will develop a palette of programmable software optimizations and shared hardware accelerators. 

ORQESTRA is being launched at a time when Europe is placing special focus on security, resilience, and technological sovereignty. Governments are directing significant investments to improving defence capabilities and advanced technologies, and quantum technologies have become of immediate strategic relevance for defence and critical infrastructure protection.

Latvia is a leader in quantum technology in the Baltic and Nordic regions. It’s the first Baltic state to establish a quantum-secure communications network to protect encrypted data against future quantum threats. As a country bordering the aggressor state Russia, Latvia places a strong focus on security and is among NATO’s leading members in defence investment, dedicating 4.9% of GDP to defence in 2026. The development of quantum technologies is therefore a critical element of Latvia’s long-term security strategy.

LMT Group has evolved from Latvia’s leading mobile communication operator LMT, into a technology innovation leader and a multi-sector technology company ecosystem. As a market leader in Latvia, it delivers a full spectrum of high-quality telecommunication services for civilian, business, academia, and military segments. 

Building on this foundation, LMT Defence, the Group’s division focused on defence and security plays a central role in LMT Group’s strategy, accelerating defence-focused innovation and capability development. LMT Defence works closely with the Latvian Ministry of Defence to conceptualize, build, implement, and test connectivity solutions for the military industry, spearheading Europe’s first 5G military testbed at the Ādaži military base, contributing to EU-supported defence projects, and leading connectivity-driven autonomous solution demonstrations.