(Yicai Global) Dec. 1 -- China Shipbuilding Industry Group Marine Defense and Information Confrontation Co. [SHA:600674] (CSIMDIC) plans to invest CNY300 million (USD45.39 million) to research quantum navigation, communication and detection technologies over the next five years, the firm said yesterday.

CSIMDIC signed separate cooperation agreements with three research institutes through its parent company China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. [SHA:601989] to research the topics and industrialize the findings. The subsidiary will provide CNY100 million in funding for each of the institutes through tranches paid over the next five years.

The researchers will use labs that were set up by the listed China Shipbuilding firm and the University of Science and Technology of China, CSIMDIC said. The institutes will work together to develop quantum navigation systems, build quantum communication equipment for government and navy systems and create responsive, high-precision radar systems using quantum technologies, the statement added.

The anticipated results of the research will have uses in underwater quantum optical communication, target detection and other fields, the company said.

CSIMDIC is the electronic information business platform of China Shipbuilding Industry. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Beijing Great Wall Electronic Equipment Co., is a core supplier of military equipment to the Chinese navy.