Turkey’s leading drone manufacturer, Baykar, and Italian defense giant Leonardo agreed on Thursday to jointly develop unmanned aerial vehicles in both countries, a move that could help the Turkish company gain a stronger foothold in Europe, where Leonardo expects the drone market to increase to $100 billion in the next decade.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to establish that an Italy-based venture will work on the design, development, production and maintenance of unmanned aerial systems. The collaboration will integrate Baykar's aircraft with Leonardo's expertise in mission systems — including drones' hardware, software and communications — as well as payload design, which encompasses equipment that drones carry such as cameras, Leonardo stated in a press release.

Leonardo hinted that the deal seeks to increase Baykar’s exposure to the European drone market, noting in the release that the deal will leverage the Italian firm's “related aerospace certification in Europe." Leonardo predicted the European market for drones will reach $100 billion in the next 10 years.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the agreement is for five years, and production related to the partnership will be carried out in both Turkey and Italy. Baykar Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Selcuk Bayraktar said the two companies had been in “intensive negotiations for months” and have already integrated some of their systems, according to Anadolu.