Feb 3 (Reuters) - 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.
Reporting by Mirko Miorelli in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak
Source: Reuters