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 Skykraft has successfully completed a world-first trial of space-based VHF voice communications as part of its development of satellites to provide space-based aviation communications and surveillance services. This trial supports the work on operational space-based aviation VHF services leading…
The Royal Aeronautical Society – Australian Division will hold its inaugural Aerospace Industry Symposium – Celebrating Aerospace Downunder in Canberra on 11 October. The event will be held at the Hotel Realm, 18 National Circuit, Canberra, and will be followed…
The Australian Government has selected Hanwha Defense Australia as the preferred tenderer to deliver 129 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV) to the Australian Army, as part of a major transformation of the Army in response to Australia’s changing strategic environment. The…
The $240 million Defence Trailblazer program has been launched officially by Senator Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Education and Regional Development. It is a strategic partnership between the University of Adelaide and UNSW Sydney with support from the Australian Government’s…
EOS Defense Systems USA, Inc, the US defence subsidiary of Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has been selected to provide the EOS AS-65 gimbal, developed for the R150 remote weapon system (RWS), as the positioning component for the L3Harris Vehicle Agnostic…
British engineers have successfully completed a stratospheric flight trial of BAE Systems’ High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS), PHASA-35. Over a 24-hour period, PHASA-35 soared to more than 66,000 feet before landing successfully. The trial, at Spaceport…
Raytheon and partner Northrop Grumman Corporation have been awarded a contract of undisclosed value from the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Under the follow-on risk-reduction agreement, the Raytheon-led team will build and fly additional Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept…
A £2.5 billion ($4.77 billion) investment in stockpiles and a Global Response Force are behind a refreshed plan to improve the warfighting readiness of the British Armed Forces The UK’s Defence Command Paper Refresh (DCP23) takes learnings from the war…
A joint vision statement has been signed at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in England between the heads of the UK’s Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, and the United States Air Force, setting out their…
The Melbourne-based Defence Science Institute (DSI) is promoting a call for proposals by the UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA). The Accelerator will be launching an “Autonomous sensor management and sensor counter deception” themed competition in July. This themed competition…
