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 RAN will arm its surface combatants with the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) Block 2 for anti-air and anti-missile defence. Minister for Defence Peter Dutton said the purchase of the ESSM Block2 capability is a key pillar in…
Defence technology company Anduril Industries and the Australian Defence Force are entering into commercial negotiations for a US$100m co-funded design, development and manufacturing program for Extra Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicles (XL-AUVs) for the Royal Australian Navy. The XL-AUV will be…
Raytheon Australia has teamed with local defence industry leaders Austal and BMT to deliver the new Australian Independent Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel, or ILMV for the Australian Army. The project is reported to be worth around $800 million and will see…
The Royal Australian Navy will receive a fleet of 40 Schiebel S-100 Camcopter ISR UASs, reports Defence Connect. According to reports originally published in The Australian, Minister for Defence Peter Dutton has approved the purchase of the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for…
Students from the University of Sydney’s rocketry team, the USYD Rocketry team, have their eyes firmly set on gold after successfully launching their 2022 competition rocket in New South Wales’s far west. After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the team will…
Adelaide-based Nova Systems will host its inaugural SME Summit for Australian owned and operated companies at Indo Pacific 2022 on Wednesday 11 May at 1000. The Summit will be held in The terrace Room at the nearby National Maritime Museum.…
For the third time, the UK Ministry of Defence has awarded Rheinmetall a contract for its Robotic Platoon Vehicles (RPV) program. The RPV program is a three-phase experiment to determine the extent to which unmanned vehicles can boost the combat…
Three Australian innovators have been named winners of the Indo Pacific 2022 Innovation Awards, worth some $30,000. Their success was announced at a special online event hosted by the organiser of Indo Pacific 2022, the AMDA Foundation Limited. The Awards…
Defence is investing $34 million in the Advanced Defence Aerospace Manufacturing Network, led by Boeing Defence Australia, to develop new technology and components for military aircraft. The funds are coming from the Collaboration Stream of the Australian Department of Industry…
The Australian government has announced $24.6 million in funding under DISER’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) Translation Stream to eight Australian businesses. This includes $1.8 million for Craig International Ballistics, a leading Queensland manufacturer of lightweight body armour, which will invest…
