The Dutch MoD has leased a second ro-ro ship, named MV Southern Rock , which will be operated by the RNLN to secure strategic transport on a more permanent basis. (Dutch MoD)

The Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) has officially put into service a second roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ship, which it has leased from a private company as part of efforts to secure strategic transport on a permanent basis.

The ship, named MV Southern Rock , arrived in Dakar, Senegal, on 15 May with its first load of equipment for US Africa Command's (AFRICOM's) joint multinational Exercise ‘African Lion 2024', the MoD announced the same day.

The lease contract for Southern Rock will initially run for a year, with the option to extend on an annual basis up to three times for a maximum of four years' operation.

Southern Rock is owned by Dutch shipping company Hartman Seatrade, which started operating the new ro-ro vessel in 2023. It was built by a partnership between Dutch shipbuilders Neptune Marine and Hartman Marine Shipbuilding, and Poland's Partner Shipyard, where the hull was completed.

OCCAR and MBDA have launched the HYDIS² concept phase. (MBDA)

The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) and MBDA announced on 15 May that they signed a European Defence Fund (EDF) grant agreement and a linked procurement contract to launch the three-year HYpersonic Defence Interceptor Study (HYDIS²) concept phase on the same day. MBDA signed the agreements on behalf of the 19 industrial partners in HYDIS². In its press release, OCCAR valued the programme at EUR140 million (USD152 million), EUR80 million of which is co-funded by the EDF.

The concept phase aims to mature critical technologies focusing on the operational requirements of participating countries France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, which will support the selection of a concept afterwards and will contribute to MBDA's Aquila counter-hypersonic interceptor concept. Another aim of the concept phase is to create an industrial network to develop future counter-hypersonic missile systems.

An MBDA spokesperson told Janes

RSS Inimitable , the fourth and final Type 218SG boat for the Republic of Singapore Navy, was named at Kiel yard on 22 April 2024. With a length of about 70 m and a displacement of around 2,000 tonnes, the Type 218SG is the largest submarine built by thyssenkrupp Marine Systems to date. (tkMS)

German shipbuilder thyssenkrupp Marine Systems GmbH (tkMS) lays claim to be the world's most successful exporter of submarines in the post-war period. Through its submarine building forebears Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft and Thyssen Nordseewerke GmbH, and design house Ingenieur Kontor Lubek, the company has sold over 175 diesel-electric and air independent propulsion (AIP) boats since 1945. Currently the Kiel shipyard is completing orders for Singapore (Type 218SG) and Israel (Dolphin II), and the production of six next-generation Type 212CD submarines to meet the joint needs of Germany and Norway is also under way.