Innovation and R&D have always been the essential foundations of a strong, sustainable defence industry. Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper, Defence Industry Policy Statement (DIPS) and Defence Integrated Investment Program (DIIP) acknowledge the importance of successful Defence R&D and innovation to the nation’s defence industry and thus to Australian defence policy. The 2020 Defence Force Structure Plan reinforced these foundations.
EX2 was set up by Dr Gregor Ferguson, a defence industry and innovation analyst and consultant, to make a useful contribution in Australia’s new and welcoming defence business environment.
EX2 helps innovators in Defence, the research sector and industry, and especially SMEs, by providing news and insight about innovation in Defence and adjacent sectors such as space, aerospace and resources.
Gregor Ferguson writes, teaches, advises and runs a national program designed to encourage and reward innovators in the defence, aerospace and maritime domains in both industry and the research and academic communities.
View his bio here (PDF opens in new window).
Dr Gregor Ferguson, Ph.D, BA (Hons), MRAeS
The Boeing Defence Australia-developed MQ-28A Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) will integrate with US and allied forces during EX Valiant Shield 2026. This marks a significant milestone in the operational development of CCAs and the advancement of human-machine teaming…
Australia and Canada have signed a government-to-government arrangement with to export an Australian Over the Horizon Radar (OTHR) system. This $2.5 billion agreement marks the first international sale of Australia’s world-leading OTHR technology, building on the proven success of the Jindalee…
The USAF has awarded contracts for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, including for Increment 1 air vehicles from GA-ASI and Anduril, as well as mission autonomy software, in a push to rapidly field advanced combat capabilities, it says. The…
Thales Australia has unveiled the next-generation Bushmaster at the Eurosatory tradeshow in France. The unveiling showcased a Bushmaster named 5.6 or Mulga utility variant capable of integrating a range of different sensors, effectors and mission systems to meet contemporary warfighting…
Californian company Castelion has been awarded a US$23.4 million ($33.3 million) firm-fixed-price order from the US Navy for the production and delivery of 50 Blackbeard hypersonic missile, to be completed by 2027. The contract covers early operational capability pre-production prototypes and 50 associated storage and shipping containers, said…
McLean, Virginia-based Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Mission Technologies has announced the delivery of the first REMUS 130 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) to an undisclosed US ally. The REMUS 130 is the latest addition to the REMUS family, which is in…
Sydney based DroneShield and Defenture, a Tiel-based Dutch company specialising in tactical mobility vehicles, have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate joint commercial opportunities for mobile C-UAS capability. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the companies will combine DroneShield’s counter-UAS…
Lockheed Martin and General Motors subsidiary GM Defense have announced a new collaboration to strengthen America's manufacturing and defence industrial base, facilitated by the US Department of War. Working under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two companies will explore opportunities…
The US Navy has announced it will begin support activities for the Submarine Rotational Force‑West (SRF-West). US personnel will begin rotating to HMAS Stirling, in Western Australia, later this year. As part of this process, the USN will re-establish US Submarine…
Sydney based DroneShield has produced its first European-made Counter‑Unmanned Aerial System (C‑UAS), marking a significant milestone in the company’s global manufacturing and supply chain strategy. DroneShield is an Australian publicly listed company but it has headquarters in Australia, the United…
