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 size and capability of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) will be significantly increased to keep Australians safe in an increasingly uncertain global environment, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on 10 March. Under the plan ADF personnel will increase by…
Defence is seeking Expressions of Interest from university partners to form a Centre for Advanced Defence Research and Enterprise (CADRE) to enhance the ADF’s ability to operate safely in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) environments. Responses are due by…
Lockheed Martin Australia and QinetiQ Australia have signed a teaming agreement to deliver comprehensive Test and Evaluation, Verification and Validation, certification and assurance services in support of the RAAF’s Project AIR6500 Phase 1: Competitive Evaluation Process Stage 2. The partners…
The University of Southern Queensland’s space manufacturing hub has been shortlisted for a $242.7m Trailblazer Universities Program. The project - Innovative Launch, Automation, Novel Materials, Communications and Hypersonics (iLAuNCH) Hub – is a national priority and will help the country…
Silentium Defence has won a contract from the Royal Australian Navy to explore the use of passive radar systems for enhanced situational awareness in the maritime domain. Under the contract, Navy has engaged Silentium Defence in a gated process to…
California-based AI and networking firm Anduril has established an Australian subsidiary, Anduril Australia, located in Sydney with David Goodrich OAM as CEO and Executive Chairman. The new subsidiary will design, develop, manufacture and market major product lines in Australia.…
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced there will be a new base built on the east coast of Australia for the RAN’s future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Three sites have been short-listed he said in a speech to the…
The South Australian state government has announced the establishment of a dedicated taskforce for the RAN's Nuclear-Powered Submarine Program. The South Australia Government Submarine Taskforce will support Defence's own Nuclear-Powered Submarine Taskforce to deliver an optimal pathway for the submarine program, keeping…
The Minister for Defence Industry and for Science and Technology, Melissa Price MP, announced at the 13thAustralian Space Forum on 3 March that the Australian government has awarded a $20 million Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) Collaboration Stream grant to Adelaide-based…
Adelaide-based companies Cobham Special Mission and Acacia Systems have teamed to modify the former’s fleet of Dash-8 surveillance aircraft. Aircraft integration work commenced last month at Cobham’s aircraft maintenance hub in Adelaide. The project will see defence software and systems…
