Officially called unmanned aerial vehicles, the drones have seen an increasing use in dangerous conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Because of low operating costs and a reduced risk for personnel, who can be stationed far away from the battlefield, they are an attractive alternative to traditional military aircraft.

EADS is now trying to convince several European powers to finance a joint project for an advanced UAV. So far, most drones are U.S.- or Israeli-made.

"It's about setting the course whether Europe will play its own role in the future market of UAVs or be dependent on models produced in the United States and Israel," Stefan Zoller, chief executive officer of EADS Defense and Security, told the Financial Times Germany newspaper.

EADS at last week's Paris Air Show unveiled the twin-jet-powered Talarion, a UAV with a 92-foot wingspan capable of executing reconnaissance, intelligence, surveillance and target acquisition missions.

EADS has already approached Germany, France and Spain and said Turkey is willing to support the plane, the development of which would cost more than $2 billion.

"If a decision is made this year, then the UAV could make its maiden flight in 2013 and be sent to customers in 2015 or 2016," Zoller told the newspaper.

EADS has offered the three countries a package with 15 drone systems (one system includes three drones and a ground control facility) for $4 billion. Germany and France would get six systems and Spain three.

German officials are not sure whether they want to go ahead with the Talarion. Ruediger Wolf, a state secretary in the German Defense Ministry, has told his French and Spanish colleagues that Berlin is uneasy about the financials behind the project.

"Wolf indicated to his partners in France and Spain that he sees at the moment no possibility to go on with the advanced UAV. But I think we will talk about it," a German military official told the magazine Flight International.

Germany is eager to quickly modernize its drone fleet and is looking for a more short-term deployment of UAVs.

Berlin has launched the bidding process for such a contract and several manufacturers have made offers, including French military aircraft maker Thales-Dassault and a consortium of Israel's IAI and Germany's Rheinmetall. Both models would be based on the Israeli Heron drone.

It's no secret that Germany, in the medium and long term, would favor a European-made UAV. So far, Thales-Dassault and EADS have the best chances, and both companies have been pushing research and development for UAVs.

Annual worldwide spending on drones will double within a decade to $8.7 billion, according to estimates by Teal Group, a Fairfax, Va.-based aviation consultant.

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