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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
From a long-life seawater battery system for sustained underwater sensing and surveillance applications to a waterjet propulsion system for fast interceptor craft, the DRDO has handed over seven technologies to the armed forces, the government said on Friday. These technologies have been developed under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme, the defence ministry said. "Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has handed over seven technologies developed under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme to the three Services," it said in a statement. "The technologies are -- an indigenous high-voltage power supply for airborne self-protection jammers, a tide-efficient gangway for naval jetties, advanced very low frequency-high frequency switching matrix systems, VLF loop aerials for underwater platforms, indigenous waterjet propulsion system for fast interceptor craft, a novel process for recovery of lithium precursors from used lithium-ion batteries and a long-li
Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has said that the island's defence budget will exceed 3 per cent of its economic output as it overhauls its military in the face of the rising threat from China. Along with the latest equipment much of it from the United States, the military is seeking funds to retain more service people with higher pay and to lengthen compulsory national service from four months to one year. In a speech Thursday to the American Chamber of Commerce, Lai said his administration is determined to "ensure that our defense budget exceeds 3 per cent of the GDP. At the same time, we will continue to reform national defense. Lai's comments were the latest reassurance to the US and domestic critics who say Taiwan is not spending enough on its own defense. The self-governing island, which relies on the US for much of its cutting-edge weaponry, currently spends about 2.45 per cent of its gross domestic product on its military. US President Donald Trump has demanded th