£30m government contract could create 45 new jobs in Fareham

A contract between the government and SYOS Aerospace is could lead to 45 new jobs at the New Zealand company that builds uncrewed vehicles at a 3,000 square metre production site in Fareham.

The site on Dewar Close is now expanding to include an additional 2,000 square metres of manufacturing space, with CEO Samuel Vye telling the Echo that employee numbers could double “by Christmas”.

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“We ultimately established our production site in Fareham only a year ago, last May,” he said.

“We’ve got a number of suppliers in the local area as well. All in all, I think it’s really great for growing the aerospace industry in the local area.”

Over 50 people work at the manufacturing site, but across all departments Samuel expects to have “over 120 staff employed” by Christmas 2025.

Samuel Vye with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. (Image: SYOS Aerospace) Samuel founded SYOS Aerospace in 2021 after emigrating to New Zealand in 2018 and co-founding Envico Technologies.

He said that Fareham was picked as the hub for SYOS’ operations due to the “incredible depth of wealth of skilled talent”.

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“We picked it specifically because we knew the local area supported those roles so well with a depth of talent and people,” he said.

“Some who work for us are ex-Navy. There’s a lot of knowledge in this part of Hampshire and we loved that.”

The SYOS facility in Fareham is one of the biggest Unmanned Surface Vehicle manufacturers in the world, producing up to 40 USVs per month in various configurations.

Samuel said: “Fareham has got an incredible depth of wealth of skilled talent.

“We’re involved in quite a few local, national and international contracts and events.

“As a company we’re growing rapidly, which is nice but we’re pretty busy. Eight hour days are more like 16 hours at the moment.”