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
Five Australian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have won $3.6 million in Moon to Mars: Supply Chain Capability Improvement Grants from the Australian Space Agency. This grant program provides Australian businesses with funds to build their capabilities to deliver products…
Defence is investing up to $650 million to acquire additional stocks of the AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) missile, which is designed to detect, attack and destroy enemy radar systems. The Defence announcement didn’t say when these weapons…
Airbus Defence & Space has launched the first of two SpainSat satellites, SpainSat NG-I, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, in the US. Operated by Hisdesat for the Spanish Armed Forces, the Satellite Communications (SATCOM) satellite operates in…
London-based Rolls-Royce has signed the eight-year, £9 billion ($18 billion) Unity contract which brings together all elements of research and technology, design, manufacture and in-service support of the nuclear reactors that power the Royal Navy’s fleet of submarines, including the…
American company OpenAI has established Stargate, a new company which plans to invest some US$500 billion ($803 billion) over the next four years building new Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the USA. The company, which two years ago released its…
Stratford, Connecticut-based Sikorsky has begun ground runs of a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter powered by two GE Aerospace 3,000shp T901 Improved Turbine Engines (ITE). The initial light off and ground runs were executed by a combined US Army and industry…
The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) has selected the MQ-35 V-BAT Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS), manufactured by San Diego-based Shield AI, as Japan's first-ever maritime-based autonomous Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform. V-BAT will provide advanced ISR capabilities to…
The latest iteration of the Razer Low-Cost Precision Guided Munition (LCPGM) has been successfully flight tested according to its manufacturer, BAE Systems Australia. The LCPMG incorporated refined aerodynamics and onboard systems, the company says, and the fast-tracked trials program was…
Defence is investing $61.5 million with two undisclosed companies, in Adelaide and Brisbane, to support the rapid development of technology to degrade an adversary’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) systems. Developed under the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator’s (ASCA) Mission…
Defence is investing an additional $262 million in a series of grant programs intended to support local industry capability uplift and develop Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine supply chain. This will be one of the greatest industrial endeavours in Australian history, says…
