As publisher of EX2 for Defence Innovators and veteran correspondent for Defense News, Ferguson shapes global understanding of military technology integration. His work bridges policy, industry, and cutting-edge research with three decades of institutional knowledge.
“Effective pitches demonstrate how tactical innovations serve strategic priorities.”
Ferguson’s career began at Marshall Cavendish Partworks in London, where he honed his ability to distill complex technical subjects into accessible narratives. His 1987 move to British Aerospace marked a pivotal shift into defence communications, crafting stories about cutting-edge aircraft like the Harrier jump jet. This experience forged his signature approach: marrying engineering precision with human-centered storytelling.
This 2025 investigation into Sydney-based Q-CTRL’s quantum navigation breakthroughs demonstrates Ferguson’s ability to make frontier science accessible. The piece details how quantum accelerometers could maintain positional accuracy without satellite signals, crucial for submarine operations in contested waters. Ferguson traces the technology’s development path from DARPA-funded research to AUKUS implementation timelines, contextualizing its strategic importance for Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program.
Analyzing the government’s 2025 roadmap, Ferguson dissects how the $368 billion submarine program will transform domestic manufacturing. His analysis highlights the creation of 4,200 new engineering roles and the challenges of scaling titanium casting capacity. The article’s supply chain maps and workforce development timelines remain reference materials for industry planners.
In this 2021 critique for ASPI’s The Strategist, Ferguson challenged Australia’s procurement practices through case studies of the F-35 and MH-60R Seahawk acquisitions. The article’s comparison of actual through-life costs versus initial projections sparked parliamentary inquiries into defence spending transparency.
“The true test of sovereign capability isn’t what we can build, but what we can sustain through three generations of technological change.”
Ferguson prioritizes stories demonstrating concrete progress in trilateral technology sharing. A successful pitch might detail novel approaches to certification harmonization or workforce mobility between Australian and US naval shipyards. His coverage of ASC’s digital twin implementation for submarine maintenance illustrates the depth he expects on industrial process innovations.
With quantum sensing being a recurring theme, Ferguson seeks examples bridging academic research and deployable systems. The Q-CTRL article emerged from tracking Diraq’s spin-off from UNSW – a model for pitches connecting university labs to defence primes.
Stories about Indo-Pacific partners adopting Australian defence tech receive particular attention. His analysis of Vietnam’s Bushmaster procurement demonstrated how to contextualize exports within broader strategic partnerships.
Ferguson rarely covers individual equipment acquisitions unless they illustrate systemic innovation. A pitch about drone swarm tactics succeeded by linking to Army’s Robotic & Autonomous Systems Implementation Plan rather than focusing on specific UAV models.
His PhD research makes Ferguson particularly receptive to case studies about patent licensing models or R&D collaboration frameworks. The analysis of DMTC’s IP sharing template between SMEs and primes remains a benchmark for effective pitches.
Recognizing his exposé on cybersecurity vulnerabilities in defence contractor networks, this award from the Australian Defence Business Review underscores Ferguson’s capacity to balance technical detail with public interest reporting. The investigation prompted ASD’s revised Cyber Security Guidelines for Industry.
His series on hypersonic wind tunnel development at UQ highlighted the judging panel’s appreciation for stories that connect scientific infrastructure to operational capabilities. The work influenced ARENA’s funding allocation for defence-adjacent energy research.
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