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
Canberra-based Lockheed Martin Australia and Brisbane-based Rheinmetall Defence Australia are collaborating to explore a potential Australian‑based sustainment model for Lockheed Martin’s M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) launchers. The Australian Army has ordered 42 HiMARS wheeled launchers which will equip…
US defence contractor L3Harris Technologies has completed a major mirror refurbishment for the US Space Force’s Australian Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) at the Harold E Holt Naval Communication Station in Exmouth, Western Australia. This critical milestone ensures one of the…
Sydney-based DroneShield, has announced interoperability between its DroneSentry-C2 Command-and-Control (C2) software, and optical sensing technologies from UK firm OpenWorks Engineering. The partnership strengthens DroneShield’s ability to unify multi-domain sensor inputs within a single operational C2 environment, delivering enhanced detection, tracking, and…
California-based Skydio has announced an order exceeding $52 million for over 2,500 X10D drones, or Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS), from the US Army. The order is the largest Small UAS procurement from a single manufacturer in the US Army’s history…
The Royal Navy is set to purchase 20 uncrewed boats from the Kraken Technology Group in a contract worth £12.3 million ($23.3 million) as it looks to build on its ability to merge both crewed and uncrewed forces. The procurement…
Florida-based L3Harris Technologies and Californian company Shield AI have successfully demonstrated a first of kind autonomous Electronic Warfare (EW) integration, combining L3Harris’ electromagnetic battle management ecosystem known as Distributed Spectrum Collaboration and Operations (DISCO) with Shield AI’s Hivemind mission-autonomy software. The…
The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) will make a $200 million hybrid note investment in ASX-listed cloud, cybersecurity, and telecoms provider Macquarie Technology Group. The NRFC is a sovereign investor established by the Australian Government to invest in Australian businesses…
The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the US Navy have selected Anduril Industries and its Dive-XL autonomous submarine to participate in the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform (CAMP) Project. This project aims to address a persistent operational gap beneath the…
The Geelong-based AMDA Foundation Ltd, which organises the Indian Ocean Defence & Security (IODS) 2026 expo, has named the ten finalists in the IODS 2026 Innovation Pitchfest and Awards which spotlight the ingenuity shaping Australia’s maritime and defence future. This…
Defence’s Canberra-based Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) has released a Request for Information (RFI) for the ASCA Pitch Day 2026 – Resilient Command and Control (C2). ASCA Pitch Days provide industry and academia the opportunity to present their idea to…
