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 governments of Australia and Canada have signed a new technology partnership agreement to support collaboration on Over the Horizon Radar (OTHR) research and development. Canada’s decision to work with Australia on OTHR capabilities recognises Australia’s Jindalee Operational Radar Network…
Perth-based Greenroom Robotics, a leading Australian maritime AI and autonomy company, has been granted AUKUS Authorised User status by the Australian Government. This status, part of the AUKUS trilateral export agreement, gives Greenroom access to licence-free exports to the United…
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) will establish a Cyber Reserve Concept to support the Defence Strategic Review’s call for enhanced resilience, workforce agility and sovereign capability in the cyber domain. This is one of 17 separate recommendations identified in the…
Californian firm General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and its sister company General Atomics Integrated Intelligence, Inc. (GA-Intelligence) have successfully demonstrated an autonomous air-to-air engagement. The flight integrated local and global sensor fusion to deliver real-time situational awareness and autonomous…
Industry partners, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and MBDA UK, together with the UK Ministry of Defence, have revealed the design of the UK’s flagship Combat Air Flying Demonstrator (CAFD). The aircraft has reached a major milestone, with two thirds of its…
The US Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) XQ-67A, a second-generation Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP), has successfully demonstrated integration of government reference autonomy during a recent flight test in the California High Desert, says General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI). During…
UK company BAE Systems has launched a precision munition from a multi-rotor Uncrewed Air System (UAS) and successfully destroyed both air and ground targets during trials in the US. This marks a major step forward in the development of a…
In 2015 Lockheed Martin realised it need to more broadly engage international R&D opportunities. So it looked around the world for the site of its first non-US R&D centre and found it in Melbourne. Originally named the Lockheed Martin STELaRLab,…
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) says it will establish a purpose-built space workforce for its Joint Capabilities Group’s Space Command. The 2024 Defence Workforce Plan highlighted the need to recruit and retain highly‑specialised personnel for emerging capabilities, including space. To meet…
The University of South Queensland-based iLAuNCH Trailblazer, together with partners Optus, HEO, Inovor Technologies and Defence’s Science and Technology Group (DSTG), have announced plans to build, launch and operate a sovereign Australian Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite. This collaboration represents…
