Third INDUS-X summit announces updated MOU between U.S., Indian defense innovation hubs

The third India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) Summit on Monday featured the signing of an “upgraded” memorandum of understanding between the Defense Innovation Unit and its Indian counterpart, according to a Defense Department announcement today.

The MOU signed by DIU and the Indian Ministry of Defense’s Defense Innovation Organization “demonstrates a shared commitment to expanding cooperation on defense innovation between DIU and DIO to expand their respective militaries’ access to cutting-edge technologies through non-traditional processes,” the release said.

The summit, held in Silicon Valley, CA, also saw the release of a new INDUS-X webpage outlining the program’s goals, partnership opportunities, participating companies and upcoming events, according to DOD.

The Senior Advisory Group, a group of U.S. and Indian officials, also hosted their third meeting at the summit, along with the Senior Leaders Forum. Both meetings focused on establishing new initiatives and furthering the progress of current activities under INDUS-X.

The summit comes seven months after the second, held in New Delhi, India, during which DOD and the Indian Ministry of Defense announced the winners of the first two INDUS-X challenges focusing on leveraging commercial technology for military use.

In conjunction with the second summit in February, the Pentagon also released an INDUS-X fact sheet to outline the initiative’s accomplishments to date and its near-term priorities.