AMCHAM’s Defense Committee organized an interaction with officials from the U.S. Department of Defense on February 21st in New Delhi. The delegation included Mr. Douglas Bush, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, U.S. Department of Defense, Mr. Justin McFarlin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International and Industry Engagement, U.S. Department of Defense, Ms. Sandy Long, Senior Advisor for Defense Exports, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports and Cooperation, U.S. Department of Defense, Ms. Aditi Kumar, Deputy Director, Strategy, Policy & National Security Partnerships, Defense Innovation Unit and their colleagues. Ms. Udaya Arun, Director, AMCHAM welcomed participants and presented an overview of the AMCHAM document ‘U.S. – India Defense Partnership: Co-Production and Co-Development.’ Mr. Alain Garcia, Chairman – Defense Committee, AMCHAM and Vice President, Global Business Development – India, Boeing Defense, Space and Security, The Boeing Company provided an overview of the defense sector in India. Mr. Salil Gupte, Vice Chairman, AMCHAM and President, Boeing India moderated the discussion with delegates from RTX Technologies, BAE Systems, 3M Inc., Honeywell and L3 Harris. Challenges in supply chain issues, quality, scheduling, costs, acquisition, labour, tech transfer, collaborations, timelines, production diplomacy, export climate, BIS certification mismatch, aerospace grade raw material availability, amongst others, were discussed. The delegation requested more feedback and provided their inputs based on engagements with their counterparts on policy matters, innovation challenges supported by industry and co-imagining. Mr. Samit Ray, Co-Chairman – Defense Committee, AMCHAM and Deputy Vice President – Government Affairs & Public Policy South Asia, RTX summed up the meeting and requested the officials to meet with AMCHAM during the annual door knock to DC in June 2024.