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
US firm Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Mission Technologies division has won a contract from US Naval Sea Systems Command to build nine Small Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (SUUV) for the US Navy’s Lionfish System program. The contract has the potential to…
The Rhode Island-based Undersea Technology Innovation Consortium (UTIC) has announced the first UTIC Challenge. The inaugural challenge calls on academic institutions in the three AUKUS countries - Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - to propose innovative workforce…
The Australian Department of Defence is investing $220 million in munitions production at factories in Mulwala in New South Wales and Benalla in Victoria. “Improving Australia’s ability to manufacture the munitions our defence force needs is not only critical to meeting…
Sydney-based DroneShield has released the DroneSentry-X Mk2 at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition (AUSA 2023) in Washington, DC. The new system is a multi-mission Counter-UAS solution for mobile and expeditionary fixed-site applications. The company says…
The iLAuNCH Trailblazer, based at the University of South Queensland (USQ), has issued an open call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) to access remaining funding to foster the creation and commercialisation of space and aerospace-related research and innovation in Australia.…
The Secretary of the US Navy, Mr Carlos Del Toro, has announced three new innovation-driven initiatives to refine the services focus on meeting the Navy’s capability needs quickly. Speaking to the centenary of the Naval Research Laboratory on 28 September…
A new Centre at the University of Adelaide for research into high-frequency (HF) radar technology will play a critical role in the nation’s safety and prosperity. The University of Adelaide, the Department of Defence’s Science and Technology Group (DSTG) and…
The next phase of design work on the SSN-AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine has begun following the awarding of £4 billions ($7.63 billion) worth of contracts to three British prime contractors. The signing of the Detailed Design and Long Leads (D2L2) Phase…
University of Adelaide spin-off QuantX Labs has joined forces with UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), through Airbus Australia, to launch Australian quantum technology into space in 2026. QuantX Labs, known for its ground-breaking work in quantum technology, has established…
The Australian Department of Defence is reorganising its three regular brigades and adding a fourth in a series of wide-ranging changes designed to transfer most of Army’s combat weight to northern Australia. In doing so it is implementing key recommendations…
