Seitec is an Australian defense technology company based in Canberra that specializes in passive seismic sensing and Edge-AI detection. Founded in 2021 by Daniel Stevens, a former Royal Australian Air Force engineer, the company grew from his work on UXOTrackS, a system created to detect and locate unexploded ordnance on weapons ranges. UXOTrackS evolved into Nightingale, a deployable sensing platform for defense, security, and industrial applications.
Nightingale uses seismic and acoustic sensors to detect movement through the ground and air. Edge-AI processes sensor data at the point of collection, allowing the system to detect and classify targets without relying on cameras or other line-of-sight sensors. The platform can detect people, vehicles, small unmanned aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft, rotary aircraft, and ordnance, including in areas where walls, vegetation, or terrain restrict conventional sensors.
Nightingale Extends Seismic Detection Across Multiple Missions
Nightingale uses deployable sensor hardware and a network across three detection packages. The ground package detects people, vehicles, and small UAVs; AIR detects fixed-wing and rotary aircraft; and STRIKE detects and locates ordnance on weapons ranges while determining whether a munition has exploded. A software-defined architecture allows the sensor network to be configured for different detection requirements without replacing the underlying sensor hardware.
The ground detection capability can operate indoors and outdoors and detect movement from people, vehicles, and small UAVs. Field testing in 2025 demonstrated detection of drones ranging from 3 to 16 inches and also identified aircraft detection as another application. International Special Forces began testing the capability in April 2026. Seitec also introduced a second-generation sensor node that is more than 50% lighter and uses 30% of the power of the previous version.
STRIKE Brings Seismic Data to Weapons Ranges
Nightingale STRIKE applies seismic sensing to weapons-range operations. The system detects where bombs, missiles, and artillery rounds land, determines whether ordnance has exploded, and sends near-real-time information to range control. The sensor network can monitor large areas without visual access being blocked by vegetation or infrastructure, giving range personnel another source of information when cameras do not locate an event.
The U.S. Air Force began testing STRIKE in February 2026, following a $1.2 million Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group test and evaluation contract awarded in May 2025. During an earlier demonstration at Woomera Test Range, Nightingale located a bomb landing within a 20-meter radius after range cameras failed to identify the location. Testing also demonstrated the system’s ability to distinguish simultaneous detonations.
From Air Force Innovation to Defense Technology Company
Seitec originated with Stevens’ 20-year Royal Australian Air Force career, which included work as an avionics technician on F-111 and F/A-18F aircraft and as an electronics engineer supporting Air Weapons Ranges. In 2019, he conceived the technology that became Nightingale STRIKE, and the Air Force innovation branch Jericho helped prove the concept in 2020. The Air Force and Defence Science and Technology Group then backed its separation from Defence and commercialization, leading to Seitec’s formation in 2021.
The company secured a $4.2 million contract from the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator in 2023 and a $1.2 million test and evaluation contract from the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group in 2025. In July 2026, Seitec raised $4 million in a Seed B round, taking total investment capital raised to $4.9 million. With testing underway for its ground-target and ordnance-detection capabilities, Seitec is applying passive seismic sensing technology to multiple defense missions.
ABOUT | DANIEL STEVENS
Daniel Stevens is the founder and CEO of Seitec, an Australian defense technology company based in Canberra. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering with First Class Honours from the University of New South Wales and served for 20 years in the Royal Australian Air Force. His RAAF career included work as an avionics technician on F-111 and F/A-18F aircraft and as an electronics engineer supporting Air Weapons Ranges.
In 2019, Stevens conceived UXOTrackS, a seismic sensing system designed to detect and locate ordnance impacts and determine whether munitions had exploded. The concept was proven in 2020 with backing from Jericho, the RAAF’s innovation branch. In 2021, Stevens founded Seitec to commercialize the technology, which became the foundation for the company’s Nightingale sensing platform.
