India, Italy unveil military cooperation plan 2026-27, deepen defence ties

New Delhi: India and Italy on Thursday resolved to develop a defence industrial framework for co-production of military hardware even as the two sides explored the possibility of co-developing critical technologies needed by India’s coastal defence force.

The decision to bolster bilateral defence and strategic ties was reached during talks here between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto.

The two sides unveiled a bilateral military cooperation plan 2026-27 outlining the military engagements between the armed forces of both the countries.

"We discussed a wide range of regional and global issues including the current situation in West Asia. We also discussed the avenues to further develop mutually beneficial defence industrial cooperation under India's Atmanirbhar Bharat programme and Italy's defence cooperation initiative," Singh said in a social media post.

Parallelly the Indian Coast Guard held a discussion with the Italian shipyard Fincantieri for future projects, with emphasis on advanced design features, including resilient hulls for higher sea states, enhanced bollard pull, integrated firefighting systems, and hybrid/electric propulsion.

The talks between the coast guard and one of the world’s biggest shipyards explored modular ship design for versatile and multi-role platforms with rapid operational adaptability too.

The two sides also deliberated on indigenous development and co-development of niche technologies such as dynamic positioning systems, advanced thrusters, Al-enabled decision support, counter-unstaffed aerial systems and next-generation green propulsion.

Under the broader framework of defence ties, India and Italy have been looking at boosting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region with an aim to increase interoperability and cooperation.

The two sides have been exploring avenues for enhanced partnerships and dialogue among public and private stakeholders, focusing on technology collaboration, co-production and co-development of defence platforms and equipment.

The two coordinated meetings involving the ministerial delegations and Fincantieri come more than two years India and Italy signed an “agreement of cooperation” in defence, which among other things seeks to promote “co-development, co-production and setting up of joint ventures” between Indian and Italian companies.