India’s Coast Guard is advancing talks with Italy’s Fincantieri to co-develop next-generation maritime and counter-drone technologies, aligning with New Delhi’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat framework to ensure technology transfer and domestic manufacturing.

The engagement underscores India’s priority on drone defence and advanced shipbuilding capabilities to secure its vast Indian Ocean theatre.

India’s rapidly modernising Coast Guard is evaluating advanced maritime and counter-drone technologies from Fincantieri, Italy’s state-controlled shipbuilder.

The discussions come at a time when New Delhi is accelerating efforts to close capability gaps across its expansive Indian Ocean operational theatre, where maritime security challenges are intensifying.

According to the Ministry of Defence, senior representatives from Fincantieri, led by Eugenio Santagata, Head of the Military Naval Vessel Division, met Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, Paramesh Sivamani, at Coast Guard Headquarters in New Delhi.

The Italian delegation also included Anna Ruffino, Head of the Economics and Innovation Department at Italy’s Embassy in India, underscoring the strategic weight both governments attach to deepening defence-industrial ties.

Counter-unmanned aerial systems and anti-drone defence featured prominently in the agenda. This reflects a global doctrinal shift in maritime security following the widespread battlefield deployment of uncrewed aerial systems in recent conflicts.

India’s Coast Guard, tasked with policing one of the world’s most strategically contested coastlines, has identified drone defence as a priority capability requirement.

Shipbuilding discussions covered hull designs engineered for higher sea states, enhanced bollard pull, hybrid and electric propulsion architectures, and modular platform configurations enabling rapid operational role switching.

These features are critical for the Coast Guard’s diverse missions, ranging from coastal surveillance and anti-smuggling operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The talks also addressed co-development of dynamic positioning systems, advanced thrusters, and artificial intelligence-enabled decision support tools. These are areas where Fincantieri carries substantial proprietary expertise, and their integration would significantly enhance operational efficiency and resilience in complex maritime environments.

Both sides framed the engagement within India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat self-reliance framework. This signals that any resulting partnership would prioritise technology transfer and domestic manufacturing over straightforward procurement, ensuring that India’s industrial base benefits directly from the collaboration.

For Fincantieri, deepening its Indian footprint offers access to one of Asia’s most active naval expansion programmes at a time when defence budgets across the region are rising sharply.

The company has already established a presence in India through its subsidiary WASS, which supplies heavyweight torpedoes to the Indian Navy. Expanding cooperation with the Coast Guard would further consolidate its role in India’s maritime modernisation.

The interaction served as a forward-looking platform to advance cooperation in shipbuilding, maritime technology, and capability development aligned with India’s maritime security priorities.

It highlighted the convergence of Italian expertise in advanced naval systems with India’s ambition to build indigenous capacity, creating a pathway for sustained collaboration in the years ahead.

Agencies