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
Hypersonix USA Inc is partnering with established launch provider Rocket Lab USA, Inc for the first launch of the DART AE hypersonic flight vehicle. The Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU’s) hypersonic and high-cadence testing capabilities (HyCAT) project and its mission partners…
Energy savers: The research team comprised (from left to right) Professor Darren Bagnall, Professor Shujuan Huang, Dr Binesh Puthen Veettil and Dr David Payne A microwave technology invented at Macquarie University will improve the manufacture of solar cells and make them easier to recycle.…
The government of South Australia is introducing a new state-wide innovation model to strategically connect the state’s growing innovation districts, including Lot Fourteen, Tonsley Innovation District and Adelaide BioMed City Premier Peter Malinauskas has announced. As the state prepares to take…
DroneShield Ltd has received two orders totalling approximately $2.2 million for a number of its handheld systems, including its recently launched DroneGun Mk4 portable drone countermeasure product. The orders were received from the U.S. DoD and another U.S. Federal Government…
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has allocated GBP£650 million (AUD$1.2 billion) to the tri-national Global Combat Air Program (GCAP). This funding will help take the sixth-generation air combat program, which the UK is pursuing in partnership with Italy and…
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has knocked back the Sikorsky-Boeing challenge to the US Army’s selection of the Bell Textron V-280 Valor for its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program – essentially, the Blackhawk helicopter replacement. The eventual…
The US Navy’s Office of Naval research – Global (ONR- Global) has called for proposals for its Global-X Challenge. This is designed to spur revolutionary innovation and teaming for a proof of concept within nine months. The Office of Naval Research will…
Perth-based Austal Australia and US company Saildrone Inc. have signed an exclusive Teaming Agreement to jointly identify opportunities to collaborate on the manufacture of the 20 metre Saildrone Surveyor, in Australia, for deployments in the Indo-Pacific region. The Saildrone Surveyor…
The US Defense Department has approved Full Rate Production for Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS). The decision validates the maturity of the IBCS which is at the core of the company’s bid for Australia’s Joint Air Battle…
Ms Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency, will be trained as an astronaut by the European Space Agency (ESA). She becomes the first Australian woman to be trained as an astronaut by an international space…
