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
To facilitate R&D into autonomous Artificial Intelligence (AI), the TTCP Cage Working Group has released the Cyber Operations Research Gym (CybORG), an experimental platform using the OpenAI Gym interface that features a cybersecurity scenario and a challenge. Researchers and cyber security experts are…
The Bluebottle Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV), designed and manufactured by Sydney-based Ocius Technologies, has been used on live operations by the ADF for the first time. A Bluebottle USV was used by the Army’s 7th Regional Force Surveillance Group (RFSG)…
Sydney-based Advanced Navigation has secured $108 million (US$85 million) in Series B funding led by international investment firm KKR. The funding round also includes participation from new investors such as deep learning venture firm AI Capital and existing investors, including…
Dutch survey and geodata specialist Fugro is partnering with Sydney drone manufacturer Carbonix to establish a new long-range drone capability. It is Fugro’s first partnership working towards long-range Beyond Visual Line of Sight missions (BVLoS), bolstering Fugro’s existing Geographic Information…
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd, with the Israeli Navy and the Israel Ministry of Defense‘s IMDO, has completed an advanced interception test of the C-DOME Naval Iron Dome System. The C-DOME is an advanced naval configuration of RAFAEL's IRON DOME…
Lockheed Martin Australia (LMA) has signed a two-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra Space to contribute to a comprehensive space education program with research and development (R&D) and industry engagement pathways. The…
Boeing engineers have recently demonstrated a new, autonomous technology that can successfully prevent jamming attempts on U.S. Department of Defense satellite communications (SATCOM). The test was conducted on the U.S. Space Force’s Protected Tactical SATCOM Prototype (PTS-P), showing how this…
The US Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) held its 2022 RobotX Challenge at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, Penrith, 11-17 November. Some 20 teams from around the world, six of them Australian, participated in RobotX. The names of prize…
Following a successful launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket in the world, the agency’s Orion spacecraft is on its way to the Moon as part of the Artemis program. Carrying an uncrewed Orion, SLS lifted…
Sydney-based HEO Robotics and Tokyo-based Axelspace Corporation have announced a partnership to give HEO Inspect, HEO Robotics’ satellite inspection software platform, access to five space-based sensors. The software provides critical insights to satellite operators that help advance their understanding of…
