Peru and South Korea have signed a major maritime defense cooperation agreement at the SITDEF 2025 defense fair in Lima, Peru. Peruvian state-owned shipyard SIMA (Servicios Industriales de la Marina) and South Korean defense industry giant HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the joint development of a new submarine variant based on the HDS-1500 model. The agreement is considered a strategic milestone in the Peruvian Navy’s modernization efforts.
According to Pucará Defensa, this cooperation project between the two countries aims to create a new design based on the HDS-1500 submarine model, about which there is little public information. It is also stated that this preliminary design has recently received Approval in Principle (AIP) from the renowned classification society Det Norske Veritas – Germanischer Lloyd (DNV-GL).
The agreement envisages that the design development process will take approximately two to three years. After the necessary financing is secured, the construction of the first submarine is expected to take at least another four years. The new submarines are expected to gradually replace the Type 209/1100 Islay Class and Type 209/1200 Angamos Class submarines that have been in the Peruvian Navy’s inventory for many years.
The foundations of this important agreement are based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) established at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Lima in November 2024. Last November, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Peru’s state shipyard SIMA announced their intention to further develop a joint submarine in order to further advance their partnership. In addition to this cooperation, the two companies also held a ceremony for the construction of an offshore patrol ship and two logistics ships. This latest agreement demonstrates the deepening defense industry cooperation between the two countries.
