India and Italy partner to build helicopters locally, boosting defense indigenisation and jobs.

An agreement has been reached between Adani Defence & Aerospace and Leonardo of Italy to establish a domestic helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in India, with the goal of producing cutting-edge models for the Indian Armed Forces, such as the AW169M and AW109 TrekkerM. In addition to supporting India's Aatmanirbhar Bharat objectives, the partnership seeks to increase indigenization and establish local assembly and maintenance capabilities. With plans to create thousands of high-skilled jobs and expand into civil applications, it aims to meet the military's demand for more than 1,000 helicopters over the next ten years. In addition to supporting larger initiatives to position India as a global aerospace hub, the initiative fortifies defense ties between Italy and India.