Italy's Leonardo and India's Adani ‍Defence & ‍Aerospace have signed ​a preliminary agreement to launch a ⁠helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in India, ⁠the companies said ‌in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The memorandum ⁠of understanding concerns Leonardo's AW169M and AW109 TrekkerM models in particular ⁠and aims to ​address the increasing demand and new military requirements ‍in India, though it could ​potentially be extended to civil aviation applications.

Adani Defence & Aerospace's CEO Ashish Rajvanshi said the Indian Armed Forces project demand for more than 1,000 helicopters in the coming ⁠decade.

Leonardo's shares were ‌up around 2% at 0900 GMT following the ‌announcement.