Saab UK has reached an inflection point in its growth with the opening of its new Fareham campus in Hampshire, a three-building, state-of-the-art facility dedicated to radar systems and underwater robotics. The company has converted this major capital investment into a scalable industrial platform that reinforces sovereign capability, accelerates delivery of complex systems to the front line, and supports a long-term skills and innovation pipeline in the UK.
The expansion is enabling a more integrated approach to how advanced radar and subsea technologies are conceived, produced, and supported for the British Army, wider defence customers, and civil markets, and has earned Saab UK the Business Expansion award for Manufacturing Scale-Up in the 2025 Army Technology Excellence Awards.
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Manufacturing scale-up for sovereign radar and underwater systems
The establishment of the Fareham campus represents a new centre of excellence for both sensor systems and underwater robotics in the UK. By integrating engineering development, prototyping, and serial manufacture within one campus, Saab UK has shortened the journey from concept to deployable capability. The trilogy of buildings is configured to support this flow through three separate buildings focusing on prototyping, engineering, and development of new technologies; delivering structured, repeatable manufacturing of the Seaeye subsea portfolio; and concentrating on production and support of advanced radars such as Giraffe 1X. This end-to-end configuration enables faster iteration, tighter feedback loops between design and production, and more agile response to evolving operational requirements.
On the radar side, the Fareham site serves as Saab’s UK-based centre of excellence for systems that are in service with the UK Armed Forces. The campus is positioned to meet future customer radar requirements and servicing needs, while supporting in-service radars operated by the UK Armed Forces, including the Giraffe 1X and Giraffe AMB air defence radars and the TAIPAN (Arthur) artillery locating radar. This anchors key radar capabilities onshore and reduces dependence on overseas production and support for mission-critical systems that underpin artillery locating and air defence missions.
In parallel, the campus strengthens the UK’s role in underwater robotics and critical underwater infrastructure protection. One section is dedicated to the manufacture of Saab’s Seaeye remotely operated vehicles, including platforms such as the Seaeye Falcon, Seaeye Leopard, and the all-electric SR20. These systems support a wide range of markets, from offshore energy, oil and gas, and renewables, to defence, marine science, and aquaculture. They are used for tasks such as subsea inspection, maintenance of offshore wind farms, protection of subsea cables, fish farm infrastructure inspection, seabed mineral exploration, scientific research in hazardous or deep environments, harbour security, and submarine rescue operations. By placing engineering development, testing, and production in close proximity, Saab UK is able to align product development more directly with operational needs across both defence and civil sectors.
The campus has been built as a scalable manufacturing platform rather than a static facility tied to a single programme. The multi-million-pound investment, pledged in 2023 and realised with the official opening in February 2025, has delivered modern machinery and advanced technology infrastructure in a layout that can absorb future programmes and additional export work. By co-locating radar and subsea production, Saab UK can balance domestic defence demand with orders from international customers in offshore energy, research, and allied armed forces. This spread of applications supports stable production volumes, provides a base for export growth, and aligns with UK–NATO collaboration and demand in maritime security, offshore energy, and subsea technology. With Arthur/TAIPAN and other systems already in service with multiple countries, the Fareham campus functions as a UK industrial node within a wider global supply chain, able to serve national priorities while contributing to international programmes.
Scaling a skilled defence manufacturing workforce and continuous-improvement culture
Manufacturing scale-up is closely tied to workforce capability, and Saab UK’s headcount growth reflects how it has linked facility expansion to skills development. Between June 2021 and June 2025, headcount rose by 484%, with the Fareham campus supporting up to 400 roles, including apprenticeships and skilled manufacturing and engineering positions, backed by partnerships with schools, colleges, and universities.
Saab UK’s model of developing apprentices into experienced practitioners and future leaders helps mitigate skills shortages and retain expertise, while the mix of robotics, software, electronics, and mechanical engineering makes the business attractive to technically minded recruits.
Inside the Fareham facility, Saab UK has put emphasis on a people-centric, continuous-improvement culture. Manufacturing teams are encouraged to identify and drive process enhancements, with ideas often originating from the shop floor. This approach supports improvements in efficiency and quality, which are important in the production and support of systems such as Giraffe 1X and TAIPAN, where availability, reliability, and consistent performance are essential. The ability for staff to contribute to process and product improvement reinforces engagement and supports the company’s goal of maintaining high standards as volumes increase.
Localised defence supply chains and future-ready production at Fareham
The Fareham campus has been central to reshaping Saab UK’s supply chain and production methods, with a clear focus on resilience, advanced technology integration, and sustainability. In response to global supply chain uncertainty, Saab UK has increased localisation of suppliers within the UK and taken steps such as building up stocks of critical components. At the same time, it makes use of the broader Saab organisation’s purchasing power to reduce the risk of shortages. This combination of local sourcing and global leverage helps reduce lead times and mitigates exposure to disruptions, particularly for time-sensitive defence programmes and critical underwater infrastructure projects.
In production, Saab UK is aligning its methods with the same trends that are shaping its products: electrification, autonomy, and data-centric operation. On the subsea side, the all-electric SR20 ROV is a key example. Saab positions the SR20 as a high-performance, all-electric, work-class underwater robot with overall power and performance exceeding that of a 200 HP hydraulic equivalent, and its manufacture at Fareham involves sophisticated assembly, testing, and validation processes that rely on advanced tooling and careful systems integration. The same approach applies in radar production, where systems increasingly use digital antenna technology and software-driven features, requiring close integration of hardware, software, and firmware in the scaled-up factory environment.
Data plays a central role across the product lifecycle at the expanded Fareham campus. Saab UK uses data during design and development, including simulations before manufacturing, and in the production environment, where process and quality data support continuous improvement as volumes increase. In service, customer feedback and field performance information are fed back into upgrades and new product development. Together, these practices help refine production processes, support reliability at scale, and ensure that future iterations of products remain aligned with user needs. For Army and wider defence users operating systems such as TAIPAN, this integration of operational feedback into the engineering and manufacturing cycle at Fareham is important for sustaining availability and performance as the UK industrial base expands its role in through-life support.
Sustainability considerations are embedded in both products and processes at Fareham. The move towards electric, autonomous, and resident subsea systems is aimed at supporting customers’ efforts to reduce operational risk, cut costs, improve efficiency, and lower carbon footprints, particularly by reducing reliance on large support vessels and enabling subsea residency. Saab UK also has its own goals for reducing the environmental impact of its manufacturing activities, supported by the modern infrastructure at the campus. These measures reflect broader pressures on defence and industrial customers to reduce emissions while maintaining operational effectiveness, and they help ensure that the scaled-up UK manufacturing base at Fareham remains relevant and competitive as environmental and regulatory expectations tighten.
Overall, the Fareham campus demonstrates how a targeted manufacturing scale-up can reinforce sovereign capability, localise critical supply chains, and support through-life services for key UK defence systems while also serving civil and export markets. The investment has delivered more than additional floor space; it has created a flexible industrial platform in the UK that supports radar and underwater systems production, sustains a growing pool of skilled personnel, and underpins long-term innovation in areas that are strategically important to national defence and critical infrastructure protection.
“We’re proud to receive the Army Technology Excellence Award for Business Expansion. This reflects the dedication of our people and our mission to keep people and society safe. Our new Fareham Campus is a centre of excellence—developing, manufacturing, and supporting in-service radar systems for the UK Armed Forces, including Giraffe 1X, Giraffe AMB, and TAIPAN, as well as our market-leading Seaeye underwater robotics portfolio, such as the all-electric Seaeye SR20. By localising supply chains and embedding innovation, we’re strengthening sovereign capability and building export-ready capacity for the future.”
– Andy Fraser, Group Managing Director, Saab UK
Company Profile
Saab UK Ltd, a legal entity of Saab AB, is a leading defence and security company. With around 600 employees and a presence in the UK for more than 30 years, Saab operates 8 major facilities across the country, including training and simulation in Wiltshire, Seaeye underwater robotics and sensor systems in Fareham, Public Safety Solutions in Hull, the Software Technology Centre in Farnborough, and its headquarters in London.
The UK is a key country of operations for Saab. Over 60% of Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapon comes from UK supply chain and 35% of the Gripen fighter jet is sourced from UK companies creating thousands of jobs.
Links
Website: https://www.saab.com/markets/united-kingdom
