Adelaide electronics design and manufacturing firm Hendon Semiconductors has partnered with Perth-based Proteus Maritime to deliver innovative Australian-made technology for the increasingly contested underwater environment.

The partnership, formalised at Land Forces 2026, will accelerate the development and delivery of Proteus Maritime’s Tripwire system, an Australian-developed network of seabed sensors designed to improve awareness of activities below the ocean’s surface. The system securely transmits information over long distances in near real time providing decision-makers with timely and reliable data.

Hendon Semiconductors will manufacture the Tripwire system at scale in Australia and at an affordable price point, ensuring the capacity, reliability and availability needed to meet evolving operational requirements.

Brenton Judge, Executive General Manager of Hendon Semiconductors, said the partnership reflects a shared commitment to strengthening Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base and demonstrates how Australian innovation, backed by domestic manufacturing expertise, can deliver operational capability at scale.

“Australia has the technical capability and manufacturing expertise to develop and deliver world-class defence technology,” Mr Judge said.

“Our partnership with Proteus Maritime demonstrates how Australian SMEs can collaborate, invest in innovation and accelerate the delivery of sovereign capabilities such as the Tripwire seabed sensor network.

“This is about turning Australian innovation into operational capability at scale.”

Proteus Maritime is a veteran-owned Australian SME specialising in technologies that help detect, monitor and understand activity beneath the ocean’s surface.

Hendon Semiconductors is a long-established company that combines advanced engineering expertise with comprehensive onshore manufacturing and testing capabilities.

The company is committed to enabling Australian innovation by helping organisations transform novel electronic technologies into reliable, scalable and commercially viable products.

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Photo: L-R, Brenton Judge, Executive General Manager of Hendon Semiconductors and Sam Mckeon from Proteus Maritime.