What does SYOS make? The New Zealand-based firm moved into its Dewar Close, Fareham factory in June 2024. Transforming a dilapidated abandoned unit into a manufacturing hub,

SYOS in Fareham is producing un-crewed surface vessels (USVs) at a rapid pace to meet the demands of the hybrid navy. Its tiny Rattler-class boats have been a regular fixture around HMNB Portsmouth, with sailors conducting exercises from XV Patrick Blackett.

To meet these growing needs, talented individuals have been flocking to the firm. CEO and founder Sam Vye said this “very large” presence in Fareham will continue to grow, with Hampshire being a hotbed for talent.

During a tour of the facility, he told The News: “Between Portsmouth and Southampton, there is a huge knowledge and experience base for maritime engineering. We’ve got people with experience from the superyacht industry, the Royal Navy, and various other firms. They’re employed across engineering, operations, and production.

“We set up manufacturing and had to it very quickly for contract requirements. Over a period of weeks, we sourced a building, employed staff, and kicked off production. In three months, we were in full scale production. The team is everything. They have allowed SYOS to deliver on its contracts and what the customer wants over and over again.”

initial testing for the Ministry of Defence began in July that year. By September, they had reached the serial production stage – with 50 USVs built there a month.

One of them is the SM300, a large boat that can carry up to 300kg with a range of 650km in rough sea conditions. Built with a plastic hull and with an adaptable design, it houses autonomous tracking and targeting on board that can scope out static or moving objects. It can also be a mothership for un-crewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).

SYOS employs more than 50 people in Fareham, including software engineers, naval architects, mechatronic systems engineers and other roles. The firm’s recruitment drive is ongoing. It was recently shortlisted to produce a UAV companion for the British Army’s Apache helicopters.

“There’s a heap of fantastic companies dealing in USVs, many in the local area,” Mr Vye said. “Our approach is software first and hardware second. By doing that, we have developed this multi-domain, multi-vehicle mission system software, which is applied to our vehicles.

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