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.

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.

Leonardo and Baykar Technologies are to establish a joint venture focussed on the development of unmanned air vehicles integrated with the Italian company's defence electronics payloads, with the latter's 6t-class Akinci platform likely to be the first product offered to the market.