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
French counter-mine and autonomy specialist Exail is making another pass over the target. It will showcase its advanced unmanned Mine Countermeasures (MCM) solutions at Indo Pacific 2025, reaffirming its commitment to helping Australia strengthen its maritime security, the company says.…
Together with its AUKUS partners, the RAN has the responsibility for coordinating, supporting and delivering a significant package of maintenance work on the US Navy Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine USS Vermont. She arrived at Fleet Base West at HMAS Stirling near Fremantle in…
Anduril Industries is one of a new crop of cashed-up defence technology companies - most of them in the United States - that is challenging the business models of long-established European and US prime contractors. The company is known for…
Sydney based Cirrus Real Time Processing Systems, one of Australia’s leading mission training systems developers, has announced the successful delivery of its Air Combat Officer Training System (ACOTS) to its German client, Aerodata AG. The ACOTS training system has been…
ST Engineering has launched the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) first Victory-class Multi-Role Combat Vessel (MRCV) at its Benoi Yard. The 8,000-ton, 150m-long MRCV is designed to serve as a ‘mothership’ for uncrewed systems, enabling seamless operability across air, surface…
Melbourne, Florida-based L3Harris Technologies has expanded its VAMPIRE Counter-Uncrewed Aerial System (C-UAS), which it says demonstrates the company’s ability to defeat small UASs accurately and affordably. The expanded family of systems now includes specialized variants for land, maritime, air and…
The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) will make its first defence sector investment spending $10 million to acquire an equity stake in Brisbane-based Hypersonix Launch Systems (HLS). It is part of a consortium, alongside the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), SaaB…
Shield AI has unveiled its new X-BAT, an autonomous, AI-piloted, Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) fighter jet designed for expeditionary and maritime operations in contested environments. It uses a compact launcher to take off and recover vertically but still…
Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace and Thales Australia have successfully fired a Naval Strike Missile (NSM) test munition from the StrikeMaster missile launch vehicle in Norway. This firing demonstrates the suitability of the Thales Australia Bushmaster Utility variant as…
Sydney based DroneShield has announced the integration of Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) into its counter Uncrewed Aerial System (C-UAS) ecosystem. The integration fuses traditional aviation surveillance data with counter-drone detection, allowing operators to intuitively differentiate legitimate aircraft from potential drone…
