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 Air Force has awarded Raytheon Missiles and Defense a US$985,348,124 contract to develop and demonstrate Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) prototypes, under a multi-year bilateral program with Australia. The award underscores the U.S. Air Force’s focus on increasing…
SIAA, in partnership with the Australian Space Agency, NSW Government and BE Sydney, will host the 2025 International Astronautical Congress, IAC2025, in Sydney. The IAC was last held in Australian in 2017 when the announcement was made that Australian would…
The 34th Congress of the International Council for the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) will be held in Sydney. The announcement came after the ICAS 2022 conference which was held in Stockholm, Sweden from 4 to 9 September. No date for the…
US-based launch provider Virgin Orbit has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Wagner Corporation, proprietor of the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport and Business Park in Queensland, to conduct space launches using Virgin orbit’s LauncherOne System. In pursuing their joint mission…
The Australian Missile Corporation has been named the second Enterprise Partner for Defence’s Sovereign Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise, following Aurecon’s appointment two weeks ago. The company’s CEO Lee Goddard said the contract signing in Canberra represented an…
Australian launch services company Gilmour Space Technologies will launch a dedicated rideshare mission into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in late 2024. Unlike most rocket launches which host a primary customer payload, a rideshare launch comprises many customer payloads such as…
Lockheed Martin Australia has been awarded a $1.18 billion, 19-year contract by GeoScience Australia to bring the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN) to life. The SouthPAN initiative will deliver a signal augmenting GPS and Galileo over the Australasia region, improving…
Australia’s first MQ-4C Triton Remotely Piloted Aircraft System, acquired under Project AIR 7000 Ph.1B, has been rolled out at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale plant in California. The aircraft is on track for production completion in 2023 ahead of final delivery to…
American Rheinmetall Vehicles has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center (DEVCOM GVSC). The CRADA allows American Rheinmetall Vehicles and DEVCOM GVSC to collaborate on a regular…
Nova Systems will invest an initial $2 million to establish an Australian-first Test and Evaluation Centre of Excellence – a central hub supporting sovereign defence capability and cutting-edge research, digital technologies, training and ideas. The concept was announced by Nova…
