Aerospace PQC
Rad-hardened avionics, satellite link budgets, DO-326A certification, ITAR/EAR export controls, and multi-decade fleet interoperability across ground, airborne, and space segments.
Why this matters: A satellite or airframe fielded today will still be flying in the 2050s — its crypto has to survive a threat model that doesn't exist yet, under rad-hardening and export-control constraints no other industry faces.
Aerospace is uniquely vulnerable to the quantum threat because its cryptographic systems must protect data across three segments with fundamentally different upgrade cadences — and because its equipment lifetimes span the entire PQC transition window.
Ground Segment
ATC centers, ground stations, airline ops. Standard TLS/IPsec stack. Patched in weeks. PQC migration via standard IT change management.
Airborne Segment
Avionics with RSA-2048 / ECDSA P-256 for nav database auth and SATCOM. Crypto libraries certified under DO-178C. Fleet-wide PQC rollout: 5–10 years.
Space Segment
Command/telemetry encrypted with AES + RSA/ECDH key exchange. Satellites cannot be physically accessed post-launch. Crypto must be provisioned pre-launch for 15–20 year GEO missions.
HNDL: Satellite Command & Telemetry
Adversaries can intercept encrypted satellite command uplinks and telemetry downlinks today. With a future CRQC, they could decrypt command sequences and forge authenticated commands — potentially taking control of communications satellites, GPS constellations, or military reconnaissance platforms. A GEO satellite launched in 2028 with RSA-2048 key exchange will still be operating in 2043, well past credible CRQC timelines.
Related Resources
Products shown here are a representative selection — not an exhaustive list. For the full vendor landscape with PQC readiness status, visit the Tools & Products tab in this module or browse the Migrate catalog →
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