India and the US have discussed ways to strengthen collaboration in "critical and emerging defence technologies" to meet the evolving requirements during the 24th Indo-US Joint Technical Group Plenary Meeting hosted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) recently.
The plenary was conducted in line with the vision and policy guidance of the framework for India-US Major Defence Partnership signed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in October 2025.
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"The delegations reviewed the ongoing cooperation in defence science and technology, discussed associated challenges, and examined proposals to further strengthen collaboration in critical and emerging defence technologies to meet the evolving requirements," the defence ministry stated in a release.
There were also discussions on boosting the participation of university-affiliated research centres, defence laboratories, and industries in cooperative research and development initiatives.
"Additionally, the meeting explored potential collaboration between the DRDO and the Defence Innovation Unit under the Innovation Bridge framework, concluded with the signing of a project agreement," the statement from the ministry further said.
Senior officials, scientists, and technocrats representing institutions and laboratories under the US Department of War and the Department of State, along with DRDO scientists and officials from India's tri-Services, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, and the National Security Council Secretariat, participated in the meeting.