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
A Defence Trailblazer collaborative project led by industry partner Space Machines Company aims to develop space-borne perception and intelligence technology for Space Domain Awareness (SDA), supported by funding from the Adelaide and Canberra-based Defence Trailblazer’s Accelerating Sovereign Industrial Capabilities (ASIC)…
Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies has announced a launch window starting 'no earlier than' March 15 for the maiden flight of its Eris launch vehicle, the first Australian-designed and built rocket aiming for orbit. Eris will go into orbit from the company’s…
Canberra-based Lockheed Martin Australia has been awarded a contract extension until the end of 2025 to continue sustaining the Aegis Combat System in the Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart-class guided missile destroyers. Although Defence and the company haven’t disclosed a figure,…
The Australian Army controversially cut short the careers of its MRH90 helicopters and is replacing them with 40 UH-60M Black Hawks. The Royal Australian Navy already has 23 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, with another 13 coming. Significantly, both aircraft are pretty…
By Jane Rickards The ASPI Strategist web site has published an article by author Jane Rickards that reports Taiwan is paying attention to seabed risks. It’s suffered undersea cable breaks and it has noted deliberate attacks on such communications lines…
Canberra based Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has unveiled the R500, a next-generation Remote Weapon System (RWS) that it says introduces new capabilities in remote lethality, enhancing precision and adaptability in complex combat environments. Launched at the International Defence Exhibition &…
Defence has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to tap into British expertise and research in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science. The agreement was signed between Defence, the University of South Australia, and the Alan Turing Institute, based…
Sydney-based DroneShield has been registered with both the United States and Australian governments under AUKUS, enabling the export of most military and dual-use goods, technologies, and services to the United States and the United Kingdom without the need for an…
Estonian company Milrem Robotics has launched its 8×8 HAVOC Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) at IDEX 2025 in Abu Dhabi. The company says the new RCV is set to revolutionize modern combat operations and that it represents the pinnacle of next-generation…
Melbourne, Florida-based L3Harris Technologies has introduced AMORPHOUS, a software product that features a single user interface to operate thousands of autonomous assets simultaneously. Designed with an open architecture, this software enables US and allied militaries to control a mix of…
