Top US defence official Elbridge Colby is expected to visit India at the head of a US delegation towards the end of March to inject momentum into India-US defence relations after months of diplomatic tensions. Elbridge Colby, under secretary of defense for policy. (Bloomberg)
New Delhi and Washington will discuss speeding up pending defence acquisitions and consider reviving forums such as INDUS-X, which boosted ties between American and Indian defence companies, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named.
Colby, who serves as Undersecretary of War for Policy, is widely seen as one of the key figures behind the making of US defence policy in Trump’s second term. This will be his first visit to India and follows closely on the heels of visits by senior US military officials including Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo and US Space Command chief General Stephen Whiting. The visit is also significant as it is being planned at a time when the war in West Asia is raging, choking supply lines of key products such as crude oil, gas, and fertiliser for India and other Asian countries.
The visit comes as New Delhi and Washington continue efforts to restore bilateral ties after a prolonged period of tension caused by trade disagreements, the India-Pakistan conflict in May and India’s purchases of Russian energy. The conclusion of a framework agreement on trade in February has opened up room for a broader improvement in ties, although the agreement itself now needs to be renegotiated and finalised after the US Supreme Court ruled that the Trump tariffs were illegal.
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But defence will the main focus of the visit. According to the people cited above, both sides will be looking for a political direction to emerge from the meetings that will set the course for the bilateral defence partnership. While the US delegation is expected to push for greater military sales, India will bat for more co-production and local manufacturing of defence equipment. The India-US defence partnership has continued to progress despite broader tensions that built up in the relationship over the course of 2025. In October, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a 10-year defence framework in an effort to further deepen bilateral security ties in the Indo-Pacific region. In November 2025, the US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of the Javelin anti-tank missile system and related equipment for an estimated cost of $45.7 million. It also approved a possible sale of Excalibur projectiles for an estimated cost of $47.1 million.
“After the signing of the 10-year “Framework for the US-India Major Defense Partnership" last fall by Secretary Hegseth and Defence Minister Singh, a visit by Under Secretary Colby to India could signal the Pentagon’s deepening commitment to US-India defense collaboration. Policy engagements led by Colby could shape the agenda for how our militaries will exercise, plan, and operate together, how our industries will innovate and co-produce capabilities, and how this partnership will enhance deterrence in the Indo-Pacific,” says Sameer Lalwani, Research Affiliate with the MIT Security Studies Program.
According to news reports, India will also consider procuring six additional P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft manufactured by US defence giant Boeing. The two sides will likely push forward efforts by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and America’s General Electric for the co-production of GE F414 jet engines in India.
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Exploring collaborations in mutually beneficial defence technologies lsuch as UAV and anti-UAV systems will also likely be on the agenda, the people said. Key defence forums lsuch as INDUS-X -- established in 2023 to increase links between US and Indian defence firms -- have been largely dormant since the Trump administration took office in January 2025.
The forum’s annual summit did not take place in 2025 and HT learns that there were no firm plans yet for a summit in 2026. The Pentagon’s Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian MoD’s Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) have not publicly announced new joint challenges for defence startups in 2025. Reviving INDUS-X and platforms similar to it will also feature in bilateral talks. Colby’s visit comes at a time of some uncertainty in the US-India defence partnership in the Indo-Pacific. “We must continue to improve commercial (and other) relations with India to encourage New Delhi to contribute to Indo-Pacific security,” the document reads.