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
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…
US company L3Harris Technologies has launched its Centre of Excellence (COE) for Electronic Warfare (EW) in Brisbane. This facility will feature expertise in the design, manufacture, integration and sustainment of high-reliability EW technology critical for modern military operations, the company says.…
Three Australian innovators have been named winners of the Indian Ocean Defence & Security 2024 (IODS 2024) Innovation Awards, worth $40,000. They were among 15 finalists who each delivered a 3-minute pitch at Indian Ocean Defence & Security 2024, held…
The University of Western Australia’s ‘TeraNet’, a network of optical ground stations specialising in high-speed space communications, has successfully received laser signals from a German satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This breakthrough paves the way for a 1,000-fold increase…
The build of 18 Land Craft Medium (LCM) for the Australian Army’s new littoral fleet is being accelerated. The $2 billion program, Project LAND 8710, will also deliver heavy landing craft as well as amphibious vehicles. The first of the…
The Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart-class destroyer, HMAS Sydney, has conducted a successful firing of the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM), Navy’s replacement for the ageing Harpoon weapon system. The firing was conducted during Exercise RIMPAC 2024, being hosted by the United States…
Adelaide-based Silentium Defence Pty Ltd has delivered the first tranche of five passive radar systems to Lockheed Martin Australia for Australia’s Joint Air Battle Management System (JABMS) under Project AIR6500. Passive radars do not emit radio signals so are extremely difficult…
