Arkeus says its Warden Hyperspectral Optical Radar (HSOR) will enter service with the Australian Army as part of the Tactical Uncrewed Aerial System (TUAS) program, providing wide-area surveillance for the Army’s Integrator uncrewed aerial system.
According to the company, the payload is intended to support commanders with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) across land and littoral environments by improving detection and situational awareness over larger areas.
Arkeus said Warden was selected in November 2025 and has since been integrated, tested and validated on the Australian Army Integrator UAS in collaboration with the Army and Insitu Pacific.
The release said the Army has acquired an initial tranche of Warden systems for deployment under the TUAS program, with delivery and sustainment to be handled by Insitu Pacific.
Colonel Joel Domigan, from Headquarters Army Aviation Command, said the acquisition supports tactical-level ISR requirements for Army combat brigades.
“The introduction of Warden enhances Army’s ISR posture by providing persistent, wide-area surveillance from the Integrator platform. 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 company was delivering the system to help provide a more comprehensive picture of the battlespace in a shorter time frame.
Olsen said Warden combines hyperspectral optical sensing with the company’s ARK artificial intelligence orchestration and data fusion software to autonomously detect, classify, locate and track objects in real time over wide areas. He also said testing demonstrated performance in degraded conditions, by day and night, where conventional optical systems can struggle.
Insitu Pacific managing director Andrew Duggan said the Warden payload adds a wide-area sensing capability to the Integrator platform, combining hyperspectral collection with onboard AI processing to support Army ISR requirements.
“As we continue to build sovereign capability here in Australia to sustain and grow Integrator’s capability for Army under the Australian Army’s TUAS program, the successful integration of Warden in partnership with Arkeus has clearly demonstrated how rapidly we can field cutting edge capabilities. The Integrator is a flexible and proven platform, purpose built for complex missions and this effort has clearly demonstrated its readiness to be paired with advanced Australian sensing technology like Warden,” Duggan said.
Arkeus described Warden as a real-time, wide-area hyperspectral ISR sensor designed to be used with AI-enabled processing at the edge, rather than relying on a human operator to interpret imagery.
