HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said on the 3rd that it signed a letter of intent (LOI; Letter of Intent) with Peru's state-run SIMA shipyard to jointly develop and build the Peruvian Navy's next-generation submarines.
With the signing of this letter of intent for construction, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has moved to flesh out the terms for joint development and construction for the Peruvian Navy's next-generation submarine acquisition. Accordingly, the two sides plan to hold detailed talks on plans for joint development and production cooperation, the scope of technology transfer and other industrial cooperation, and more.
They aim to sign a joint development contract this year and plan to carry out joint development work at the Ulsan shipyard with technical teams from the Peruvian Navy and SIMA. Through this, they will complete the basic and detailed designs for the new submarine and move into full-scale construction.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is currently jointly building four vessels with the SIMA shipyard, including a multipurpose frigate (Frigate), an offshore patrol vessel (OPV), and a landing support ship (BALOG), and is solidifying their partnership through technology transfer and the expansion of local workforce training programs in the process.
The signing of this construction LOI came as a follow-up to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) concluded at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) leaders' meeting in Peru in Nov. last year and a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed at SITDEF (International Defense and Disaster Response Technology Exhibition) in Apr.
The signing ceremony was held in conjunction with APEC 2025 at the Ulsan headquarters. Attendees included President Ju Won-ho of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Bang Geuk-cheol, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration's Base Power Program Office, Minister Teresa Mera of Peru's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Peruvian Navy Commander Bravo de Rueda, and SIMA shipyard President Luis Silva.
President Ju Won-ho said, "This joint development of Peru's next-generation submarines is expected to be an opportunity to strengthen the Peruvian Navy's capabilities by one step through HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' accumulated submarine design and construction."
President Silva said, "The signing of this submarine joint development LOI is the first full-fledged joint submarine development project among South American navies," adding, "This cooperation will serve as an opportunity to accelerate Peru's self-reliance in shipbuilding and defense technologies."