Italian builder MED Group used the Monaco Yacht Show, 24 to 27 September 2025, to debut the TYKUN X (stand QA34), a 10.5 metre aluminium chase boat designed by Tommaso Spadolini. The interesting thing is not the show stand. It is the hull, and what its defence lineage does and does not buy an owner.
Published specifications
| Spec | TYKUN X |
|---|---|
| Length overall | 10.5 m (34 ft) |
| Beam | 3.2 m |
| Hull material | Aluminium |
| Hardtop | Carbon fibre |
| Fuel | 600 L |
| Water | 150 L |
| Engines | Reported as twin Mercury Verado V10 400 hp |
| Top speed | 50 plus knots (55 knots with upgraded power) |
| Designer | Tommaso Spadolini |
| Builder | MED Group (Cervia, Italy) |
| Price | Not published |
| Draft | Not published |
Sources: Megayacht News, powerboat.world, and the on-board report from The Yachtbook. One honest caveat: MED Group's own release states only 50 plus knots and does not publish the engine horsepower. The twin Verado V10 400 hp figure comes from secondary press coverage, so we report it as reported, not as a manufacturer spec. The 55 knot figure is quoted by Pressmare with upgraded power.
The defence lineage, read honestly
The TYKUN X hull derives from MED Group's MED DEFENSE division, which supplies NATO-qualified RIBs to law enforcement and security agencies. CEO Marco Galimberti described it to BOAT International as a chase boat built as a chase boat, and to Megayacht News as combining the power and grit of a military vessel with the style and comfort of a superyacht tender. Designer Tommaso Spadolini framed the brief as performance and practicality without compromising design sophistication.
That is good copy. Here is what it actually means for an owner. An aluminium hull built to a defence specification is genuinely more tolerant of the abuse a working chase boat takes: beach landings, dock contact, high-cycle launch and recovery, and grounding in the shallows. It is also field-repairable almost anywhere there is a welder, which a vacuum-infused composite is not. The honest counterweight: aluminium of the same length is heavier than composite, which costs you some top end and some fuel, and it needs anti-corrosion discipline a composite hull does not. The defence pedigree is a real argument for an owner who runs the boat hard. It is not a free upgrade, and any builder who presents it as one is selling, not advising.
Where it sits in the range and the market
The TYKUN X is the middle of a three-boat range, with siblings at 8.5 m and 12.5 m, per the BOAT International chase-boat feature. At 10.5 m it is a mid-band chase boat: the size that day-runs from a coastal base and absorbs the fishing, diving and watersports missions a garage tender cannot. Its natural comparison set is the composite chase fleet, the SAY Carbon and Wajer end of the market, where the trade is glamour and outright speed against ruggedness and repairability.
The practical reality worth stating plainly: at 10.5 m the TYKUN X does not stow in a typical mothership garage. It is a chase boat in the literal sense, run independently, transited on its own bottom or shipped, and it needs crew thinking of its own. That is true of the whole category, not a criticism of this boat, but it is the part the show stand does not mention.
The owner's-side verdict
The TYKUN X is a useful marker that the chase boat is now a category builders design from a clean sheet rather than adapting a day boat. The aluminium, defence-derived route is a legitimate alternative to composite glamour for an owner who treats the chase boat as a tool. We cover whether a programme actually needs one in chase boats explained, the builders we shortlist in the best chase boats, and the term itself in the chase boat glossary entry. To line a defence-bred aluminium hull against the composite alternatives on the numbers, use the comparison tool.
FAQ
What is a chase boat? A fast support boat that runs alongside or ahead of a superyacht, carrying guests, toys and crew for activities the mothership and its garage tender cannot. See chase boats explained.
How fast is the TYKUN X? MED Group publishes 50 plus knots, with 55 knots quoted by press with upgraded power. The reported engine fit is twin Mercury Verado V10 400 hp, though MED Group does not publish the horsepower itself.
Who designed the TYKUN X? Italian yacht designer Tommaso Spadolini, built by MED Group of Cervia, Italy.
What is MED Group and MED DEFENSE? MED Group is an Italian builder. Its MED DEFENSE division supplies NATO-qualified RIBs to law enforcement and security agencies, and the TYKUN X hull derives from that work.
Why are chase boats often aluminium? Aluminium tolerates impact, grounding and high-cycle use better than composite and is field-repairable, at the cost of extra weight and corrosion management.
