Frigate building in South America – the fleet renewal challenge
The Peruvian Navy has selected the HDF-3200 frigate design from HHI as the base design for its multirole vessel future frigate project. The design has been selected by the Philippines for its corvette project. (Photo: HHI)
South America has become something of a retirement village warships where the average age of major surface combatants is 40 years, some of which should probably be in a museum. Peru, however, has joined Brazil and Colombia in a group of three countries that have been attempting to modernise their fleets with new frigates and corvettes built in local shipyards.
South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) announced on 31 March 2024 that it had been selected as a strategic partner by Peru to help build the Peruvian Navy’s (Marina de Guerra del Peru: MGP’s) new frigates.
HHI said it would be awarded a contract in April worth US$462.9 million for the first frigate, along with a new offshore patrol vessel (OPV) and two Landing Craft Utility (LCU) logistics ships. The frigate will be built in Peru’s state-owned SIMA shipyard to HHI’s HDF-3200 design which is 127m-long, 14.9m-wide and displaces 3,400 tons.
It will be fitted with anti-ship missiles,
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