Romania Launches EU’s First Drone-Equipped Support Ship Dom João II for Portugal

Romania launched the first European drone-equipped support ship, Dom João II, for the Portuguese Navy.

Defense Romania published the video.

The launch took place at the Damen shipyards in Galati. The vessel was laid down in October 2024.

The ship is part of Damen’s 7,000-9,000-ton class. The builder used standard, proven solutions to speed up construction and reduce costs.

Dom João II is 107 m long and has a displacement of 7,000 tons. Its flight deck is 94 m long and 11 m wide. It is designed to operate drones and helicopters.

The ship also has space for 12 standard sea containers or other cargo, supported by a 30-ton crane.

Its hangars can accommodate up to 18 armored vehicles, the same number of boats or containers, or up to 300 personnel.

The vessel can also host a full hospital or scientific laboratories on board. In peacetime, it will conduct oceanographic research, environmental monitoring, humanitarian missions, and disaster response.

It can operate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles, as well as up to four landing craft.

The project is funded by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), part of the NextGenerationEU program, with funds managed by Recover Portugal (PRR).