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
Adelaide-based KBR has been selected as the ADF’s industry partner to sustain Aggregated Monitoring and Control (AM&C) of Satellite Earth Stations. The company will deliver sustainment services that ensure the ADF has a more modern, assured and resilient satellite communications service.…
The RAN destroyer HMAS Sydney has conducted a successful firing of a Standard Missile 6, or SM6, representing a step-change in the lethality, air and missile defence, and long-range strike capability of Navy’s surface combatant fleet. The SM6 will be progressively deployed…
Under the AUKUS framework Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have furthered their co-development of Resilient and Autonomous Artificial Intelligence Technology (RAAIT) by sequencing AI algorithms to support target detection and decision-making. Autonomous systems are one of the…
Spiral Blue's Space Edge One detection and research platform. Image: Spiral Blue To neutralise the threat posed by near-peer adversaries and maintain a strong regional deterrence posture, three Australian partners are developing a sovereign counter-hypersonic surveillance capability, with the space…
Defence is accelerating production of the Ghost Shark by part-funding with Anduril Australia a manufacturing facility in Australia that will see the first production variant of the Ghost Shark Extra Large Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (XL-AUV) available by the end of…
The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has successfully demonstrated the Lab’s new Quicksink weapon in a trial held during Ex RIMPAC 24 in Hawaii. A US Air Force B-2 bomber sank the 39,000-tone decommissioned amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa…
For the first time scientists and engineers have successfully fired Raytheon's High-Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS) from a British Army combat vehicle. The lightweight, portable high-energy laser system is the first laser weapon integrated on a land vehicle to be…
Haifa-based Elbit Systems has been awarded a contract worth approximately US$190 million ($293 million) to supply its Iron Sting laser and GPS-guided 120mm mortar munition to the Israeli Ministry of Defense. The contract will be performed over a period of…
Perth-based companies Aurora Labs Limited and Innovaero Pty Limited will collaborate to develop a 3D printed gas turbine for aerospace applications. The first use for it will be in an Innovaero Uncrewed Air System (UAS), the recently launched OWL-X. EX2…
Defence has unveiled Australia’s first MQ-4C Triton Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), ‘AUS 1’, the first of four to be operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The RPAS actually arrived in Australia in June. Revealed at RAAF Base Tindal, the…
