India Tells Italy Defence Technology Must Not Be Shared With Pakistan; Both Sides Explore Joint Weapons Development

New Delhi: While opening doors for co-development and production of next-generation weapon systems, India firmly told Italy that defence technology must not be shared with Pakistan, citing its support for terrorism. At a bilateral meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto, both sides explored defence industrial cooperation, with Italy indicating willingness to co-develop systems exclusively with Indian partners.

Regional and global issues, including the situation in West Asia, were also discussed. Sources said India flagged past instances of Italian defence supplies to Pakistan. Italian firms have provided platforms, components and systems - particularly in the naval domain - along with helicopters, drones and surface-to-air missiles.

Italy's largest defence firm, Leonardo, had faced restrictions from the Indian defence ministry for nearly a decade after the VVIP helicopter scandal. Those curbs have now been lifted, and the company is pursuing major contracts, including naval helicopters in partnership with Adani Defence and Aerospace. Italy is also eyeing supply of trainer aircraft, advanced naval guns and torpedoes.

Sources said the Indian Navy's recent purchase of heavyweight torpedoes from WASS came up during talks, along with the possibility of setting up a production line in India with technology transfer.

"We also discussed 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 post on X.

An Italian defence industry delegation accompanied the visiting minister and held talks with stakeholders, including the Indian Coast Guard. Officials said a Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan (MCP) 2026-27 was also exchanged to guide future military engagements.