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 US Army’s Aviation and Missile Center has selected Lockheed Martin to develop an advanced propulsion Long Range Maneuverable Fires (LRMF) missile. The missile can be fired from existing Army launchers, including the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, HiMARS,…
Artist's impression of Skykraft ATM satellites in orbit. Image: Skykraft The Defence Aviation Safety Authority (DASA) and the Australian Space Agency (ASA) are developing a common approach to the safety regulation of Australian space activities. This was facilitated by the…
US companies Boeing and Shield AI have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore strategic collaboration in the areas of autonomous capabilities and artificial intelligence on current and future defence programs. The agreement, signed at the Air Force Association Warfare…
Boston-based Regent, a pioneer in electric seaglider manufacturing, has received a strategic investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures, the venture arm of Lockheed Martin, to expedite the development of seagliders for defence missions. Regent seagliders are a new category of maritime…
To help future developers of commercial satellite constellations plan missions and operate their systems, Lockheed Martin is offering commercial licenses to its proven Horizon™ Command & Control (C2) and Compass™ Mission Planning software. Horizon and Compass leverage an integrated and…
When astronauts return to the Moon for the first time in over 50 years as part of NASA’s Artemis III mission, they will be wearing Axiom Space’s next-generation spacesuit to walk on the lunar surface. The new Axiom Extravehicular Mobility…
New startup Asia Pacific Launch aims to provide cost effective, fast, reliable, and safe access to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with a responsive, air-dropped horizontal launch system. The company is a joint venture bringing together three countries and global firms…
British space organisation The Satellite Applications Catapult, the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), and the UK Government have announced a new space supply chain mapping tool to showcase UK and Australian space sector capabilities. Enabled by the Space Bridge, an…
Intellectual Property, or IP, is an important part of Defence’s capability advantage. Last week’s AUKUS announcement about Australia’s way forward on nuclear-powered submarines, and forthcoming announcements about the Defence Strategic Review and joint R&D and acquisition of advanced capabilities in…
Adelaide’s Flinders University has signed agreements with leading nuclear science and technology universities in the United Kingdom and United States, the University of Manchester and the University of Rhode Island, to help in developing the specialist skills required for the…
