Members of India’s Defence Innovation Organization and the US’s Defense Innovation Unit pose for a photograph during the third INDUS-X summit. (Photo: X/@USISPForum)
New Delhi: The third India-United States Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) Summit convened in Silicon Valley, on Monday. Co-hosted by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum and Stanford University, the event brought together key figures from India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD/defence ministry) and the US’s Department of Defense (DoD/defence department) with the aim to bolster defence-technology cooperation between the two countries.
High-ranking American officials, including the US deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, and the US Space Command (SPACECOM) chief, General Stephen Whiting, delivered keynote addresses, highlighting the summit’s significance. The meeting explored avenues for joint military capability production, new funding mechanisms for development of defence tech, and strategies to enhance military interoperability.
Consul General Dr.K.Srikar Reddy addressed the third India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem Summit #INDUSXSummit2024, held on September 9, 2024, at @stanford in Palo Alto, California. He welcomed the participants and appreciated the significant progress made by INDUS-X in 15… pic.twitter.com/lH0y3QlcW2
— India in SF (@CGISFO) September 11, 2024
A notable outcome was the signing of an upgraded memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India’s Defence Innovation Organization and the US’s Defense Innovation Unit. This agreement is aimed at expanding access to cutting-edge technologies between the two countries through non-traditional channels.
The summit also saw the launch of an official INDUS-X webpage, designed to serve as a comprehensive resource for investors and startups interested in the programme. It features a directory of participating companies and upcoming events, facilitating greater engagement with the initiative.
Discussions at the event centred on INDUSWERX, a private sector-led testing consortium. This platform aims to provide defence and dual-use companies within the INDUS-X network opportunities to test and refine their technologies at premier facilities across both countries.
The second day of the INDUS-X Summit at @Stanford began with a Senior Leaders Forum focused on enhancing U.S.-India defense and industrial collaboration.
— US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (@USISPForum) September 10, 2024
The forum opened with welcome remarks from @JohnTChambers, Chairman of USISPF, and Dr. @JoeFelter , Director of… pic.twitter.com/WdvBWSWfXo
The summit included meetings of the INDUS-X Senior Advisory Group and Senior Leaders Forum, allowing leaders from the defence ministry and the US defence department to engage with stakeholders on new and ongoing initiatives.
The INDUS-X programme, a cornerstone of India-US defence technology cooperation, celebrated its first anniversary this June. The initiative was unveiled on the eve of the state visit to the US by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, last year.
The inaugural INDUS-X summit, held in Washington DC, on June 21, 2023, set a precedent in bilateral defence innovation. For the first time, startups from both nations jointly exhibited their cutting-edge technologies, signalling a new era of collaborative defence research and development.
This event laid the foundation for what has become a robust platform for the exchange of defence technology between the two countries.
As India Sentinels had reported, the second INDUS-X summit was held in New Delhi, in February 2024. During that event, the US defence department released an “INDUS-X Fact Sheet”, which detailed the initiative’s achievements and near-term priorities
This third INDUS-X summit is seen as yet another but a major step forward in the strategic partnership between India and the United States, particularly in the realm of defence technology and innovation, with implications for regional security in the Indo-Pacific.
