Arkeus wins Army contract for its Warden hyperspectral sensor

Melbourne-based Arkeus has won a contract of undisclosed value from the Australian Army to supply its Warden Hyper Spectral Optical Radar, or HSOR, for use on the Army’s Insitu Integrator Tactical Uncrewed Aerial System.

Warden is the world’s first, real-time, wide area, hyper spectral ISR sensor for TUASs. Current Electro-Optic and Infrared sensors are designed for a human operator who may be aided by AI, but Warden is specifically built for AI. It can see significantly further than comparable alternatives and employs an AI orchestration and data fusion engine, ARK, operating on the sensor itself to contextually understand the environment and detect, classify, locate and track objects in real time.

The Wardens will provide comprehensive wide-area domain awareness as a part of the Army’s TUAS Program, strengthening Army’s ability to generate situational awareness across both land and littoral environments.

“The introduction of Warden enhances Army’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance posture by providing persistent, wide-area surveillance from the Integrator platform.” said Colonel Joel Domigan of Headquarters Army Aviation Command. “It enables commanders to extend their situational awareness, shorten decision cycles, and maintain operational advantage across land and littoral domains.

“This wide-area sensing capability is a key enabler that enhances Army’s ability to operate effectively in a contested environment,” Domigan said.

Arkeus CEO and co-founder Simon Olsen said the combination of Warden and the Arkeus-made ARK enables the Integrator to autonomously detect, classify, locate and track objects in real time, and over wide areas, he says.

By processing and exploiting the data aboard the sensor, Warden reduces the demand for bandwidth in communications networks and accelerates the delivery of mission-relevant intelligence to decision-makers. The system is designed to enable operators to find targets across large areas without requiring constant human attention to search imagery, says Arkeus.

“Warden …is purpose-built for high-tempo operations, contested operations and the growing role of autonomous systems in modern defence,” said Olsen.

Following down-selection in November 2025, Arkeus has worked with the Army and Insitu Pacific to rapidly integrate, test and validate Warden on the Integrator TUAS. With that process completed, the Australian Army has confirmed acquisition of the first tranche of Warden systems; they will be delivered and sustained by Brisbane-based Insitu Pacific.

Earlier this year Arkeus raised $25 million in Series A Funding to establish new HSOR manufacturing centres in the USA and Queensland – earlier this year it won a $1.48 million Queensland government SIDF grant to help it establish its Warden advanced manufacturing facility on the Gold Coast.

And last month the company signed an agreement with UK Firm Tanglewood Ltd to establish a manufacturing and sustainment depot at Malvern in the UK and expand its presence in Europe.

“Our customers operate in environments where capability, reliability and speed matter,” said Olsen. “Our partnership with Tanglewood allows us to put world-class engineering and support closer to our NATO and European customers.”