India, Russia push co-production and co-development at defence industry talks

New Delhi: India and Russia hold the 24th Working Group meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation and Defence Industry in New Delhi on October 8, with the two sides reviewing existing defence cooperation and discussing new co-production and co-development initiatives. The meeting is co-chaired by Defence Production Secretary Sanjeev Kumar and Andrey A. Boytsov, First Deputy Director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.

Follow Defence Watch on LinkedIN

The discussions focus on strengthening ongoing military-technical cooperation while identifying new opportunities for joint development and manufacturing. Senior officials from both countries participate in the deliberations, which aim to further consolidate the India-Russia Strategic Partnership in defence.

The latest meeting comes as India and Russia increasingly seek to shift defence ties from a traditional buyer-seller relationship towards joint research, development, production and technology collaboration. The two countries’ military-technical cooperation framework for 2021–2031 specifically emphasises joint R&D, production and after-sales support for defence equipment.

Existing cooperation provides a foundation for this approach. Russian-origin platforms such as the Su-30MKI and T-90 are produced in India, while the BrahMos programme represents a major example of joint development. India and Russia have also agreed to encourage local manufacturing of spare parts, components and aggregates for Russian-origin equipment through technology transfer and joint ventures.

Follow Defence Watch on Whatsapp channel

The meeting also follows the 23rd Working Group meeting held in Moscow in October 2025, which was led by Sanjeev Kumar from the Indian side. The institutional mechanism remains important for addressing defence-industrial cooperation, localisation, maintenance requirements and new technology partnerships.

For India, the emphasis on co-production and co-development supports Aatmanirbhar Bharat by increasing domestic manufacturing and technology absorption, while Russia gains a deeper industrial partnership with one of its largest defence customers. The latest talks therefore reinforce the broader transition of India-Russia defence ties towards joint capability development, localisation and production in India.

(Defence Watch– India’s Defence News centre that places the spotlight on Defence Manufacturing, Defence Technology, Strategy and Military affairs is on Twitter. Follow us here and stay updated.)