California, September 11
The third edition of India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) Summit concluded in California on September 10.
This event brings together leading defence policymakers from Washington and New Delhi with a central focus on strengthening defence and advanced technology innovative partnerships.During the summit, a new official INDUS-X webpage was launched. The INDUS-X webpage is a resource for investors and startups to learn about the programme, its goals, and partnership opportunities. It features a directory of participating companies and upcoming events.Speakers at the INDUS-X Summit explored ways to jointly develop cutting-edge military capabilities, establish fresh financing sources for defence technology advancement and robust defence supply chains, and improve military cooperation between the US and India, the US Department of Defence stated.
At the summit, the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) of the Indian Ministry of Defence and the Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) of the United States Department of Defence signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) added that the MoU demonstrates a shared commitment to expanding cooperation on defence innovation between DIU and DIO to expand their respective militaries' access to cutting-edge technologies through non-traditional processes.
The summit was co-hosted by the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and Stanford University.
Speakers at the INDUS-X Summit explored ways to jointly develop cutting-edge military capabilities, establish fresh financing sources for defence technology advancement and robust defence supply chains, and improve military cooperation between the US and India, the US Department of Defence stated.
During the summit, the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) of the Indian Ministry of Defence and the Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) of the United States Department of Defence signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
At the summit, U.S. and Indian companies, universities, and nonprofit organisations discussed new technology testing and experimentation opportunities available to companies through INDUSWERX, a testing consortium led by private-sector organisations.
The consortium will continue exploring pathways for defence and dual-use companies in the INDUS-X network to test, refine, and integrate their technologies at premier testing ranges across the United States and India, as per the statement.
The summit also convened meetings of the INDUS-X Senior Advisory Group and Senior Leaders Forum, the two advisory forums under INDUS-X that enable DoD and Indian MoD senior leaders to engage stakeholders on new initiatives and advance progress on current activities under INDUS-X.
The DoD released an INDUS-X Fact Sheet in February 2024 to outline accomplishments and priority near-term efforts under the INDUS-X initiative, according to the statement.
The INDUS X initiative is spearheaded by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) from the Indian Ministry of Defence, the Defence Innovation Unit (DIU), and the Office of the Secretary of Defence (OSD) from the US Department of Defence.