Italian defence company Leonardo and Turkey's drone specialist Baykar have agreed to cooperate on the development of combat drones in Italy, the companies announced on Thursday. After several months of negotiations,

Italy's Leonardo and Turkey's Baykar announced on Thursday they were setting up a joint venture to produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), as defence companies scramble to respond to the surge in European military spending.

The first product from the alliance will likely be a military drone capable of carrying all the munitions currently used by fighter jets, with a prototype ready in about a year’s time.