Pentagon sets 2030 and 2031 deadlines for post-quantum cryptography
23 JUNE 2026, ARLINGTON
The Department of War, formerly the Department of Defense, released its post-quantum cryptography strategy. Defense One reports the release as Tuesday, 23 June, and its story ran on 24 June.
Defense One reports that all Pentagon systems must support post-quantum cryptography by the end of 2030 or face phase-out, and that all systems must use the new standards by the end of 2031. Skadden's alert gives the same two gates and quotes the strategy as saying the shift touches nearly every deployed military asset in some way.
The strategy reaches all department IT systems and, according to Defense One, the defense industrial base and supply chains, since it stresses integrating secure commercial products and developing post-quantum algorithms and protocols. Skadden and OpenSSL Corporation say the requirements flow to contractors and the defense industrial base.
Defense One quotes DoD Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies describing the strategy as only a first step in readying the military and as concerning the integrity of systems for decades to come. She placed it within broader modernization priorities, including artificial intelligence and workforce development, and said network modernization alone is insufficient.
Why it matters. Defense contractors and suppliers should expect post-quantum requirements to reach them through contracts, with end-2030 and end-2031 as the reference dates. The Pentagon can phase out products that do not support the new standards, which suggests vendors need product roadmaps now. The CIO's own description of the strategy as a first step indicates more detailed requirements may follow.