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
A pilotless plane has flown on and off a Royal Navy aircraft carrier for the first time. The W Autonomous Systems (WAS) Unmanned Air vehicle (UAV) flew from the Lizard Peninsula and on to the flight deck of the carrier…
American engineering firm KBR has partnered with Adelaide-based DEWC Services (DEWC) spectrum security technology in support of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Under the agreement, Adelaide-based KBR Australia and DEWC will share skills and experiences to develop novel solutions to…
San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is poised to begin the flight-testing phase on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) LongShot program. The LongShot program, begun in 2020, is DARPA’s concept for disruptive air combat operations through…
Melbourne-based Aerosonde, a Textron Systems Corporation subsidiary, has won an initial contract valued at up to US$19.5 million ($30 million) by the US Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) to provide UAS operational support to two Independence-class LCS and one…
Bingen, Washington-based Insitu, A Boeing Company, has announced a munitions program for its Integrator Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) which adds a highly sought-after strike capability to the platform’s payload portfolio and class-leading 24-hour flight endurance. Insitu collaborated with multiple weapons…
US defence technology company Anduril Industries has acquired Blue Force Technologies, a North Carolina-based developer of Autonomous Air Vehicle (AAVs) with an integrated aerostructures division serving a wide range of defence and commercial customers. This purchase will expand Anduril’s existing…
The US Government’s Department of the Air Force has selected JetZero for the next phase of a Blended Wing-Body (BWB) prototype aircraft project. The effort aims to mature BWB technology and demonstrate its capabilities, giving the department and commercial industry…
The first iLAuNCH Trailblazer project is under way to establish an advanced manufacturing facility in Adselaide that will design and deliver stronger more durable satellite and hypersonic vehicle structures using Additive Manufacturing (AM). Additive manufacturing, the process of creating an…
Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has demonstrated its Australian-made Directed Energy (DE) and kinetic counter-drone capabilities in a field environment, in front of an international audience of potential export customers from Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South East Asia.…
Robots that can remotely launch missiles or rockets are a step closer after two Australian companies proved the technology with a prototype demonstration. Queensland missile and rocket developer Black Sky Aerospace (BSA) has teamed with Funnel Web Systems (FWS), an…
