"Huge knowledge base" in Fareham pumping out advanced drone boats for the Royal Navy "at pace" in just months
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High-skilled engineers are pumping out sophisticated drone boats for the Royal Navy at a company that grew its British roots in just a few months.
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.”
What does SYOS make?
The New Zealand-based firm moved into its Dewar Close factory in June 2024. Transforming a dilapidated abandoned unit into a manufacturing hub, 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.
“We’ve developed and produced an array of USVs for different mission profiles, whether it’s being at sea for weeks at a time in different sea states, or vehicles that’s capable of being rapidly deployed for smaller tasks.”
Mr Vye said the Rattler boats were deployed “exceptionally quickly”, four months from its concept to being at sea - complete with all its satellite communications systems and other software.
They are expected to be used extensively used by the Royal Navy, particularly in the North Atlantic for patrols to scope out Russian ships and submarines. First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins has stressed the need to push for autonomy at a fast rate so the Navy can remain competitive with adversaries.
Mr Vye believes SYOS can meet the challenge of the Royal Navy wanting to deploy a hybrid force “at pace”. He added: “We’re really proud to support the Royal Navy with whatever mission profile they require. We focus on affordable mass vehicles.
“All our vehicles can be delivered at the lowest possible price point, through rapid and scalable mass production. We’re one of the world’s largest USV manufacturers. We want to maintain our growth and expand our customer base.”