Secure quantum key distribution (QKD) is limited by the Earth’s horizon, weather, and turbulence in the atmosphere. We will outline the analysis, design, and early stages of our mobile small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) free-space optical quantum communication system. This reconfigurable, quantum-secure communication platform can potentially open up a novel communication layer that can avoid local weather interruptions as well as provide a substantial reduction in turbulence-related loss by transmitting above ground level. We review the design and testing of a custom cage-system mode analyzer to be implemented as the receiving optics module on a sUAS. The tests of our design, within predicted operational parameters, suggests that this is a feasible option for a mode analyzer on a light-weight mobile platform.
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