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 Brisbane-based ELO2 consortium has unveiled a prototype of what could become Australia’s first lunar rover. The consortium is working on the project under Stage 1 of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars Trailblazer program which aims to land the…
Some $4.45 million in seed funding from deep tech and industry expert investors Main Sequence, Beaten Zone Venture Partners and Salus Ventures will enable Melbourne-based Arkeus to scale its next-generation hardware-enabled software platform for search, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.…
The University of Melbourne and the Italian Space Agency have successfully launched the SpIRIT nanosatellite mission, supported by the Australian Space Agency. The Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal nanosatellite (SpIRIT) was placed into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket…
The Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) has tested successfully two undersea communications and ISR technologies at this year’s EX Autonomous Warrior, held in Jervis Bay in the fortnight before the Indo Pacific 2023 maritime expo in Sydney. Rock Lobster…
Cairns-based NORSTA North Pty Ltd has been awarded the Regional Maintenance Provider contract to operate a Regional Maintenance Centre, known as RMC North, located in Darwin. The five-year $150 million contract will create 37 direct jobs and support a broader…
The Group CEO of the biggest Australian-owned supplier of military munitions has laid out a detailed plan to mobilise the nation’s defence industrial base, emphasising “it’s time for urgency, optimism and action”. NIOA Group CEO Robert Nioa used a keynote…
California company Anduril Industries has unveiled its Roadrunner and Roadrunner-M Autonomous Air Vehicles (AAV). Roadrunner is a Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) AAV designed to be customized for various missions; Roadrunner-M is a radical new class of recoverable ground-based air…
The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) will trial Ocius Technology’s 6.8m, renewable-powered Bluebottle Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV). The supply ship HMNZS Aotearoa has carried the USV from Sydney to Auckland and once operational it will be able to undertake maritime tasks at sea…
The Group CEO of the biggest Australian-owned supplier of military munitions has laid out a detailed plan to mobilise the nation’s defence industrial base, emphasising “it’s time for urgency, optimism and action”. NIOA Group CEO Robert Nioa used a keynote…
The University of South Australia (UniSA) with two Adelaide-based SMEs, VPG Innovation and SMR Australia, will mature and space-qualify a new optical manufacturing process and materials for space flight applications and demonstrate it in a camera that can utilise this…
