Greetings Commanders,

You may have seen last week's cryptic tease of the next new vessel coming to Elite Dangerous. We're delighted to reveal that the Rhino will be arriving at shipyards later this month, bringing with it a brand-new way to extract planetary riches.

Let's gear up and head to the surface for the first look, alongside Art Director Chris Gregory.

Break New Ground with the Rhino

The Rhino is a colossal SRV built to conquer planetary surfaces and claim a world's spoils. Heavily armoured, this goliath is a sturdy and reliable transport built to withstand the rigours of enemy attention.

Chris: "It’s been a while so it was great to get back on 6 wheels, there is something very satisfyingly tactile about creating an SRV and the way it interacts with the planetary terrain. There are lots of smaller considerations we have to make; the suspension, the dust from the tyres and very a fun driving model, all play a part in making them feel very different to behind the controls in a ship."

As many of you guessed from last week's teaser, the Rhino's main function is one which is brand-new to Elite Dangerous; Surface Mining.

Chris: "Surface Mining will be a great new experience for Commanders, and the design philosophy behind the Rhino was engineered with this new task in mind. We wanted it to feel deeply rooted in being a utility vehicle, armoured to protect it from the eyes of those seeking an easy pay day."

We'll be sharing more about Surface Mining soon, but this is a new way of acquiring raw materials around geological sites on a planetary surface. Keep an eye out for the next Dev Log for some more details on how this all works beneath the surface.

The Rhino marks the largest SRV which a Commander can deploy from their ship, however all that size is a requirement for the tech which this rugged workhorse is packing.

Chris: "After the all-purpose Scarab and the combat leaning Scorpion, The Rhino is an SRV built for mining and as such it’s a much larger vehicle. So big in fact that it cannot be deployed through the regular cargo hatch like the other SRVs! Instead the Rhino is dropped from the new vehicle bay."

"The Rhino's cockpit also has seats for three commanders, but the rest of its interior space is needed to store the materials it gathers and its equipment so unlike the Nomad there is no accessible interior space, but as for what that equipment might be... you'll have to discover for yourselves..."

The Rhino will launch in ARX Early Access later this month, alongside the first brand-new operation. For more behind the scenes, take a look at July's Dev Log for a look at some of the hidden details which bring Operations to life. For all the latest news on Elite Dangerous make sure to follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our regular emails for news straight to your inbox, or explore guides and upcoming content via our website.