Italian boat manufacturer Ferretti has announced a new security and defence unit targeting the Middle East and Asian markets. The division is "independent and separate, with its own budget and management", said Alberto Galassi, chief executive of the group which produces brands including Riva and Pershing and is majority-owned by Weichai, part of the Chinese state-owned Shandong Heavy Industry Group.
Ferretti Security and Defence (FSD) will design, develop and manufacture defence vessels, as well as collaborate with other defence companies. Moreover, one of the vessels for security and patrolling, the 20 metre-long FSD195, is already in production, The Financial Times reports. It is capable of reaching a speed of 50 knots and is expected to be launched in summer 2016.
The move comes as countries around the world are beefing up defence budgets to respond to heightened security concerns.
"We will invest in a sector where we want to be protagonists," Galassi added, explaining that the group will invest approximately 5m in FSD during 2016.
Global defence spending is set to increase to $1.68 trillion this year from $1.65 trillion in 2015, sector research group IHS Jane's said in December, while annual defence spending in the Asia Pacific region is expected to rise by 23 percent to $533 billion by 2020.
Ferretti, which builds vessels in 6 different yards in Italy, posted turnover of €363m for 2015, up 57 per cent year-on-year and has a €50m investment plan for the three years starting in 2015.
Ferretti Security and Defence (FSD) will design, develop and manufacture defence vessels, as well as collaborate with other defence companies. Moreover, one of the vessels for security and patrolling, the 20 metre-long FSD195, is already in production, The Financial Times reports. It is capable of reaching a speed of 50 knots and is expected to be launched in summer 2016.
The move comes as countries around the world are beefing up defence budgets to respond to heightened security concerns.
"We will invest in a sector where we want to be protagonists," Galassi added, explaining that the group will invest approximately 5m in FSD during 2016.
Global defence spending is set to increase to $1.68 trillion this year from $1.65 trillion in 2015, sector research group IHS Jane's said in December, while annual defence spending in the Asia Pacific region is expected to rise by 23 percent to $533 billion by 2020.
Ferretti, which builds vessels in 6 different yards in Italy, posted turnover of €363m for 2015, up 57 per cent year-on-year and has a €50m investment plan for the three years starting in 2015.