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
Defence awarded a $12.5 million, three year Capability Life Cycle Manager contract to Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Ltd (KBR) for the Diving, Autonomous and Signatures System Program Office (DASSPO) portfolio. The initial three-year contract is another step forward in…
The US Department of War has awarded Lockheed Martin a seven-year Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) modification for up to US$53.86 billion (about $77.3 billion) for PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors, supporting the Department of War's Acquisition Transformation Strategy. The award brings the total multiyear contract value to US$58.62 billion…
The UK Ministry of Defence has invested up to £400 million ($767 million) over the next ten years in the Anglo-Portuguese Tekever AR5 Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) under Project Corvus. The initial order will be for six AR5 drones, with…
The ADF has successfully trialled a ground-launched SM-2 naval air defence missile as an unexpected ‘candidate option’ for a future Medium-Range Ground-Based Air Defence (MRGBAD) system. The successful live-firing of the developmental system took place at Woomera and saw a…
British company BAE Systems has unveiled the UK's first uncrewed autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), at the Farnborough International Airshow. The first-of-class CCA, named Brontanax, is intended to provide electronic warfare and precision strike capabilities against airborne and ground targets,…
UK firm BAE Systems has unveiled BlackThorn, a new generation of multi-role modular warheads designed specifically for use on autonomous platforms, one-way effectors, counter-drone systems, missiles and uncrewed ground vehicles. The BlackThorn warhead is adaptable and scalable and can be…
The UK Ministry of Defence has announced a series of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) and Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) programs. The UK Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP, made the announcement at the Global Air and Space…
Californian company Anduril Industries has revealed its Thunder Group 5 tiltrotor Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS). Thunder is a hybrid-powered autonomous attack rotorcraft specifically designed to multiply the combat power and increase the survivability of current and next-generation crewed attack and…
Lockheed Martin has unveiled its MORFIUS X-Rotor Counter Uncrewed Aerial System (C-UAS), an airborne High Power Microwave (HPM) counter‑drone system designed to neutralize swarms of more than 50 enemy UASs in a single flight and be reused in the field.…
Connecticut-based Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has announced that it will integrate its proven MATRIX™ autonomy suite into BETA Technologies’ ALIA MV250 Hybrid-Vertical‑Take‑Off‑and‑Landing (HVTOL) aircraft. Sikorsky and BETA formally agreed to this initiative earlier this month and have begun MV250 integration…
