Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer has set up a joint company with the Brazilian arm of Israeli weapons maker Elbit Systems to make unmanned aircraft, according to a company statement Thursday.

Embraer will control 51 % of Harpia Sistemas, while Elbit subsidiary AEL Sistemas will hold 49 %.

Harpia "will be an important instrument to respond to the necessities of the armed forces and security," said Luiz Carlos Aguiar, president of Embraer Defesa e Seguranca, in the statement.

Embraer last December announced the creation of a defense department where it plans to develop security and communications systems.

The company is the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world after American Boeing and Europe's Airbus. In 2010, it sold 101 commercial aircraft and 145 executive jets.