South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and SIMA Peru inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the joint development of a new 1,500-ton submarine design for the Peruvian Navy during SITDEF 2025 in Lima, Peru.
HD HHI Press Release
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is entering the Latin American submarine export market in earnest, leveraging its independently developed submarine platform.
On April 24 (local time), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries announced that it held a promotional seminar on its export-oriented submarine at the Peru International Defense Exhibition, SITDEF 2025, held in Lima, Peru. The event was attended by high-level defense officials from both countries, including Peru’s Minister of Defense and Commander of the Navy, as well as the Director of the Policy Office of the Republic of Korea Navy Headquarters and the Director General of the Maneuver Program Department at DAPA (Defense Acquisition Program Administration).
At the event, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries showcased its next-generation frigate, which was ordered by the Peruvian Navy in April last year, along with the submarine it is joint developing with the Peruvian government, signaling a commitment to a long-term defense partnership with Peru.
Additionally, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with SIMA for the joint development of the Peruvian submarine during the event.
This MOA signing ceremony is a follow-up to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for joint submarine development signed during APEC 2024 in Peru last January.
The core objective of this MOA is to jointly develop a customized submarine, leveraging the advanced technologies of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Peru’s maritime defense capabilities, as part of the Peruvian Navy’s initiative to replace its aging fleet. The project aims to construct a mid-sized submarine of 1,500 tons based on the submarine platform of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to replace existing submarines currently in service.
In addition, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has received Approval in Principle (AIP) from DNV (Det Norske Veritas – Germanischer Lloyd) for the design of the ‘HDS-1500’ submarine. This follows the AIP previously granted by DNV last year for the ‘HDS-2300’ submarine of 2,300 tons. With this latest approval, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries continues to expand its export lineup of Korean submarines (K-submarines) in the global market.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National University of Engineering (UNI, Universidad Nacional de IngenierÃa) in Lima, Peru. The agreement aims to promote education and research in the shipbuilding industry, focusing on advancing technologies in shipbuilding and naval defense and fostering human resource development through various collaborative initiatives.
Meanwhile, the promotional seminar hosted by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was joined by LIG NEX1, a global provider of submarine systems, which presented the core systems and solutions that will be integrated into the submarine proposed for Peru.
“Building on our long-term partnership with the Peruvian Navy, we are expanding our cooperation from surface vessels to submarines. With Peru as our strategic hub, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is fully prepared to enter the Latin American market.”
Dr. Wonho Joo, CEO of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries
SITDEF Exhibition
The Salón Internacional de TecnologÃa para la Defensa y prevención de desastres (SITDEF) is the largest defense and disaster prevention exhibition in Latin America, held biennially in Lima, the capital of Peru, since 2007. This year’s event took place from April 24 to 27 (local time), featuring participation from over 170 global defense companies across 27 countries. The exhibition showcased a wide range of cutting-edge defense technologies including key land, sea, and air force platforms, missiles, air defense systems, and electronic warfare solutions.
