India and the US have discussed ways to strengthen collaboration in “critical and emerging defence technologies” to meet the evolving requirements at a key meeting hosted here, officials said on Thursday.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) hosted the 24th Indo-US Joint Technical Group Plenary Meeting in New Delhi on February 3 and 4, they said.
The meeting was co-chaired by Director General (Production Coordination and Services Interaction), DRDO, Chandrika Kaushik, and Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies, Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, Michael Francis Dodd, the defence ministry here said.
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, officials said.
“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 ministry said in a statement.
The discussions also focused on enhancing the participation of university-affiliated research centres, defence laboratories, and industries in cooperative research and development initiatives, the officials said.
“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 ministry said.
The meeting involved participation of 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.
