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 Perth, WA-based Defence Science Centre has award six Collaborative Research Grants, totalling $900,000, to WA researchers. The Grants are a co-contribution between the WA Government, Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) and Next Generation Technology Fund. The Collaborative Research…
The Australian Government has invested an additional $399 million inthe ongoing development of the MQ-28A Ghost Bat. The Ghost Bat, known as a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), is being developed in cooperation with Boeing Defence Australia. It is the first…
BAE Systems Australia and the Brisbane-based Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence CRC (TAS DCRC) have completed a four-year research and demonstration program during which they developed an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) system that could be used in Uncrewed Ground Vehicles (UGV).…
Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have successfully demonstrated the integration of advanced autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to test the resilience of autonomous assets in a contested environment. Conducted in South Australia in late 2023, the Trusted…
SOFWERX, in collaboration with US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) Program Executive Office – Fixed Wing (PEO-FW), Stand-Off Precision Guided Munitions (SOPGM) Program, will host a series of events for Industry, Academia, and Government Labs to demonstrate and integrate Air-launched Loiter…
The Adelaide-based SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) is teaming with the University of Sydney and NSW-based industry partners Abyss Solutions, ANT61, Space Machines Company, Sperospace and Spiral Blue to develop end-to-end Australian capabilities in In-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM).…
The Australian Department of Defence has awarded ten grants worth some $3.4 million in total to support the delivery of cutting-edge defence capabilities while creating highly skilled jobs and boosting local manufacturing. The latest round of the Defence Global Competitiveness…
San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and the US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) have demonstrated key elements of AFSOC’s Adaptive Airborne Enterprise (A2E) concept. The first demonstration, in December 2023, featured the simultaneous control of three…
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has successfully demonstrated an inflight release of its Advanced Air-Launched Effects (A2LE) platform, releasing an A2LE from the internal weapons bay of a GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger® Uncrewed Air Vehicle (UAV). GA-ASI’s design and engineering…
BAE Systems has acquired fellow UK firm acquired Malloy Aeronautics for an undisclosed amount. Berkshire-based Malloy Aeronautics designs and supplies all-electric Uncrewed Air Vehicles (UAV) to both civil and military customers. Malloy Aeronautics will become part of FalconWorks, the research and…
