INDUS-X Summit

Current Context : The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum has announced the third edition of the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) Summit.

• Held in collaboration with Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation and the Hoover Institution on September 9-10, 2024.
• Theme, “Harnessing Investment Opportunities to Enhance Cross-Border Defense Innovation Ecosystems,”
• It focus on the critical role of private capital in advancing the defence innovation sector.
• The summit will bring together leading defence policymakers from Washington and New Delhi to strengthen advanced technology partnerships in defence innovation.

ABOUT INDUS-X

• The INDUS-X Summit is aimed at enhancing collaboration between India and the United States in the field of defense technology and innovation.
• It serves as a platform to foster deeper partnerships in research, development, and co-production of advanced defense systems and technologies.
• INDUS-X can be seen as an extension of the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), which was established to promote technology transfer and co-production of defense equipment.

India-U.S. Defense Relations: India and the U.S. have significantly expanded their defense cooperation, with several foundational agreements such as the

• Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) : It is a Military agreement between Armed Forces of India and the USA that establishes basic terms, conditions, procedures for Logistic support, supplies, and services.
• Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) : It allows India to procure transfer specialised equipment for encrypted communications for US origin military platforms like the C-17, C-130 and P-8Is.
  • This will also enable greater communications interoperability between the militaries of India and the US.
• Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) : It helps India to get real-time access to American geospatial intelligence that will enhance the accuracy of automated systems and weapons like missiles and armed drones.