International Business Machines and Lockheed Martin are strengthening their existing relationship by creating a quantum innovation hub in Switzerland, the partners announced early Thursday.

At the heart of the agreement is the deployment of an IBM Quantum System Two, the latest generation of the company's flagship quantum computer, which will be accessible to academics, researchers, and enterprises in the country.

The IBM system will be deployed at the Swiss National Supercomputing Center, which is affiliated with ETH Zurich, a prominent public research university. The push also has the backing of Switzerland's Federal Office for Defence Procurement, which directs the country's purchases of military and security systems.

The Quantum System Two will house IBM's most advanced quantum chip to date. Even before the system goes online at the end of the year, users will have access to IBM's extensive fleet of quantum computers over the cloud.

IBM didn't disclose how much it is spending on the project. However, the company has committed more than $10 billion to quantum research and manufacturing over the next five years in a bid to build increasingly larger and more powerful systems.

The deployment in Switzerland is intended to spark the development of new algorithms and industrial applications, IBM said, driving forward the collaborative nature of quantum computing.

Europe has become the destination of choice for American quantum developers looking to expand. Driven by robust academic research and government funding, the continent has emerged as a hotbed for quantum innovation. Several recently public quantum start-ups are rooted in Europe: Finland's IQM and France's Pasqal stand out as two recent examples.

Alessandro Curioni, vice president of IBM's algorithms and applications division and director of IBM Research Europe, said the company looks forward to putting quantum technology "directly into the hands of Switzerland's thriving academic institutions and industries."

Although Europe is broadly considered a "trusted foreign partner"-defined in recent legislation as any member of the European Union, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-the U.S. remains focused on retaining quantum developers.

To keep the technology onshore, Washington has launched a flurry of policy initiatives in recent months. A $2 billion funding package was quickly followed by two executive orders designating quantum development as a national priority through the end of the decade. Most recently, a bill to appoint a national quantum czar cleared a House subcommittee, underscoring ongoing efforts to bring coherence to the sector.

IBM and Lockheed first teamed up in 2021, when Lockheed committed $1.3 million to the Institut Quantique at Quebec's Université de Sherbrooke to become the newest member of its IBM Quantum Network hub. The companies have since partnered to explore quantum applications in defense and national security, focusing on the advanced manufacturing of metal aerospace components and quantum sensing for navigation.