EURONAVAL 2026: Kwan-tek introduces Pyxsee-Nano quantum magnetometer for resilient navigation and magnetic sensing

French quantum sensing company Kwan-tek unveiled its Pyxsee-Nano quantum magnetometer at EURONAVAL 2026. Built on solid-state diamond Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) center technology, this three-axis vector magnetometer provides high-sensitivity magnetic field measurements designed for defense, naval, and aerospace applications.

To address the constraints of harsh operational environments, the Pyxsee-Nano uses a remote sensor head architecture. Isolating the active sensing element from host platform electromagnetic noise simplifies mechanical and electronic integration while maintaining measurement accuracy. The sensor design focuses on SWaP-C (Size, Weight, Power, and Cost) parameters to enable broad deployment across crewed and uncrewed naval platforms, aircraft, and ground vehicles.

The technological framework targets four main operational capabilities:

• Heading Reference: Delivering long-term, drift-free orientation data to bound inertial navigation system (INS) drift during GNSS-denied, jammed, or spoofed operations.
• Magnetic Anomaly Navigation (MagNav): Utilizing localized Earth magnetic field variations correlated with onboard digital magnetic maps to provide passive, satellite-independent positioning.
• Undersea Surveillance: Identifying and tracking magnetic signatures associated with submerged metallic assets and submarine traffic.
• Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Detection: Deploying magnetic sensing payloads on autonomous surface or aerial vectors to locate buried or subsea metallic hazards.

The intrinsic baseline stability of diamond-based quantum sensing reduces the need for frequent field recalibration, enabling multi-sensor network configurations. By combining data streams from networked units, operators can construct distributed fixed or mobile surveillance grids across wide maritime approaches and coastal assets.Kwan-tek is currently advancing the operational qualification of the Pyxsee-Nano alongside defense systems integrators. The system is featured at EURONAVAL within the SEANNOVATION area (Hall 6 – Stand K104-30) and on the French Ministry of Armed Forces stand (Hall 6 – Stand G98).