Proteus Maritime and Hendon Semiconductors have signed a strategic partnership agreement aimed at accelerating development and scaling production of Proteus Maritime’s Tripwire system, an Australian seabed sensor network intended to improve subsea situational awareness.
The announcement comes amid heightened focus on undersea infrastructure and maritime security. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles said at the 2026 Shangri-La Dialogue that “The seabed is becoming a battlefield.”
Tripwire is described by the companies as an Australian-developed seabed sensor network that forms an underwater mesh communications network, designed to deliver long-range data to decision-makers in near real time. Under the agreement, Hendon Semiconductors will support Proteus Maritime to scale production for delivery in Australia.
The companies said the collaboration highlights how Australian small and medium enterprises can work together and self-fund research and development to align with Defence priorities. They also pointed to the importance of turning new technologies into domestic manufacturing capability.
Hendon Semiconductors said it brings experience in analogue and digital electronic systems, along with Defence manufacturing, assembly and testing. Those capabilities are expected to be used to increase production capacity for Tripwire and support reliability and availability requirements.
