The India-Russia Working Group meeting on military technical cooperation and defence industry opened in New Delhi on Thursday, with co-production and co-development of defence equipment at the top of the agenda.

This is the 24th round of the Working Group, which functions under the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC M&MTC). The inaugural session was co-chaired by Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar from India and Andrey A Boytsov, First Deputy Director of Russia's Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation (FSMTC). Senior officials from both countries joined the deliberations.

India-Russia Working Group meeting takes up co-production

According to the Ministry of Defence, the talks ran on two tracks. The first was a review of existing military-technical cooperation between the two countries.

The second was new ground. The two sides worked on forging co-production and co-development initiatives, which the ministry said were aimed at further cementing the India-Russia strategic partnership in defence. Specific platforms and projects were not listed after the inaugural session, which is the usual pattern for this forum. Each round typically closes with a signed protocol setting out the agreed areas of work.

Third straight round under the same co-chairs

Sanjeev Kumar and Boytsov also co-chaired the 22nd meeting, held in New Delhi in November 2024, and the 23rd, held in Moscow on October 29, 2025.

The Moscow round ended with the signing of a protocol on areas of mutual cooperation. Both sides agreed then to deepen defence industry partnerships and explore new joint projects. A day later, on October 30, 2025, Sanjeev Kumar visited the JSC UEC-Klimov aero-engine plant in St Petersburg, where the discussions centred on localising critical manufacturing processes.

Defence Production Secretary leads the industry track

The India-Russia defence cooperation framework traces back to 2000, when the commission was set up. It sits at the top of the institutional structure for India-Russia defence cooperation. The Defence Ministers of the two countries meet annually under it, alternately in India and Russia, to review ongoing projects. Below the commission sit two Working Groups and a set of sub-groups. The Working Group meeting in New Delhi this week handles military technical cooperation and the defence industry, and is led on the Indian side by the Department of Defence Production. A separate Working Group on Military Cooperation, run through Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, covers service-to-service ties such as exercises and training.

The sub-groups go into individual domains. One of them, the Army Land System Sub-Group, held its fifth meeting in New Delhi in August.

Army Chief held talks in Russia in September

The India-Russia Working Group meeting comes a few weeks after a senior Army visit to Moscow. Chief of the Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth held talks with Russia's Deputy Defence Minister General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov during an official visit to Russia in September, and also called on India's Ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar.

Co-production already running in India

Joint production is not new to the partnership. BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya, produces the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in India.

Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited at Korwa in Amethi is moving toward fully indigenous production of the AK-203 rifle. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited builds the Su-30MKI fighter at Nashik under licence, and the T-90 Bhishma tank is produced at Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi.