Argentina will manufacture locally designed military drones, according to an announcement Tuesday in the official government gazette.

Argentina plans to use the drones, expected to fly as long as 12-20 hours, on its ships in searches at sea.

The program has an initial investment of 238 million dollars, the gazette said. The government contract is with state-owned INVAP, which makes complex technological products, and is owned by Rio Negro province.

INVAP designed Argentina's first communications satellite which was launched in October.

Dubbed ARSAT-1, it was Latin America's first to be built with homegrown technology.