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 Innovative Launch, Automation, Novel materials Communications and Hypersonics program, or iLAuNCH, at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) has recruited former Director of the South Australia Space Industry Centre (SASIC), Darin Lovett, as Executive Director. Mr Lovett will be…
Organised by Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and Enterprise Singapore, the Defence Innovation Challenge 2022 supports Singapore’s growth as a hub for the global innovation ecosystem and offers product innovation and commercialisation opportunities to innovative solution providers. Applications close 31 January –…
The NSW Quantum Computing Commercialisation Fund (QCCF) has opened for applications. This $7 million, single round, competitive technology development and commercialisation program is focused on quantum computing and funded by the NSW Government through its Future Economy Fund’s Commercialisation Pathways…
The Sydney based Defence Innovation Network (DIN) invites industry and Defence to help identify defence-relevant R&D problems. Selected problems will be discussed at the DIN’s Sandpit Workshop in March and will be used in the call for proposals via DIN’s Pilot Project grant program. Successful…
The Government of Canada has announced it will acquire the Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II aircraft as a result of the Future Fighter Capability Project competition which was launched in 2017. The contract is valued at US$14.2 billion. Canada is…
The third prototype of South Korea’s indigenous fighter, the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boromae, has made its maiden flight. The South Korean Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced this third prototype would be used to expand the fighter’s flight…
DroneShield Ltd has received a new purchase order worth approximately A$11 million from an undisclosed a Government agency customer. The order includes several different types of DroneShield counterdrone/C-UAS equipment. The order is expected to be delivered by mid 2023. The…
The Australian Department of Defence has signed a contract of undisclosed value with Norwegian firm Kongsberg to deliver the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), which will be employed on the Hobart Class destroyers and Anzac Class frigates, replacing the ageing Harpoon…
Canberra-based Skykraft has launched the first five of what it plans will be a 200-strong constellation of Air Traffic Management (ATM) satellites. The launch, in early January 2023, sent the largest Australian-made payload into space: at approximately 300kg, this locally…
DroneShield Ltd has delivered all Contractual elements of the Artificial Intelligence Computer Vision System (ACVS) program to the Australian Department of Defence under a Phase 2 Defence Innovation Hub program originally announced in November 2021. The contract value is approximately…
