Syos controls USV over 10,000-mile link

New Zealand autonomy and uncrewed vehicle specialist Syos Aerospace demonstrated its mastery of both autonomy and the manufacture of uncrewed vehicles  when it demonstrated control of its SM300 Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV), which was based in the UK, from Sydney, a distance of more than 10,000 miles.

The high-endurance USV was located off Cowes, in the Solent, while CEO Sam Vye used a mouse to input steering instructions during the Indo Pacific maritime expo in Sydney. During the demonstration the SM300 used Level 4 autonomy which allows a vessel to perform all platform autonomy tasks without human intervention but only under specific geofencing and weather conditions.

He said the company had built more than 150 USVs in the past 12 months for the RAN and for European customers and could see a potential market for up to 1,000 USVs in Australia alone and up to 2,300 in the UK.

Syos intends to establish in Australia to pursue both civil and defence opportunities, Vye added.

The SM300 was integrated with a Starboard Maritime Intelligence Situational Awareness (SA) and Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) maritime domain awareness system. Starboard Maritime Intelligence is a New Zealand government spin-off that works with all the relevant NZ government agencies under the 2024 New Zealand Maritime Security Strategy.