Ever since the tragic loss of the ARA San Juan and its 44 crew members in 2017, Argentina has lacked an operational submarine fleet. Now, an unexpected candidate from South Korea is vying to fill the void—not through sheer firepower, but through a novel industrial partnership taking root in neighboring Peru.
Peru and HD HHI have completed basic design work on the HDS-MGP, a customized submarine derived from the HDS-1500 concept. The project is intended to move toward local construction, maintenance, and technology transfer, turning Peru into a possible regional support hub rather than simply another buyer. For Argentina, the platform remains one of several reported options rather than a publicly announced choice.
Peru is the proof point
The Korean proposal matters because Peru is doing more than studying a brochure. HD HHI and state-owned shipbuilder SIMA agreed to jointly develop a customized submarine based on the HDS-1500, a concept in the roughly 1,650-short-ton class, while the base design received Approval in Principle from classification society DNV. In July 2026, the partners said the basic design phase for the HDS-MGP had been completed.
The next hurdle is converting that design into a production contract and qualifying a shipyard and workforce to build pressure hulls safely. Submarine construction demands exact welding, material traceability, acoustic control, systems integration, and quality assurance that go far beyond most surface ship programs. A blueprint matters, but steel, skills, and repeatable processes decide whether it becomes a fleet.
This effort fits a wider partnership already under way. HD HHI is helping SIMA build four surface vessels under a contract the Korean company valued at about $480 million, while training Peruvian engineers and working with local suppliers.
The company has described Peru as a “strategic hub” for expansion across Latin America, giving Argentina a regional program it can watch in real time.
Argentina’s submarine gap
Argentina has not had an operational submarine since the loss of ARA San Juan and its 44 crew members in 2017. ARA Salta remains useful for instruction, but advanced qualification has continued through cooperation with Peru. In July 2025, the Argentine Navy said its personnel trained at Callao on attack, periscope, diving, damage-control, and Type 209 systems.
That shared Type 209 experience gives both navies a common technical language. It also helps explain why Argentina’s search spans very different paths, including the familiar German Type 209NG, the larger French Scorpène, and the newer South Korean concept linked in recent reporting. Buenos Aires has not publicly selected the HDS-1500.
What the HDS-1500 changes
HD HHI presents the HDS-1500 as an export-oriented submarine, though it has not released a complete public performance sheet. Available material points to a modern, highly automated platform designed as a plug-and-play modular hull—allowing buyers to swap in custom combat electronics, sonar sensors, and long-term support systems like building blocks.
Argentina would still need firm data on endurance, acoustic performance, weapons integration, battery safety, certification, and delivery risk.
The Korean edge is therefore industrial as much as technical. Local maintenance, training, and a pathway for future upgrades can matter as much as headline speed when a navy must rebuild people, infrastructure, and doctrine at the same time. The trouble is that the Peruvian variant remains at the design stage, so the HDS-1500 cannot yet match the operational and export record of its European rivals.
The European alternatives
TKMS offers continuity. Its official Type 209NG material describes a compact 207-foot design with the ORCCA combat system, advanced automation, quiet propulsion, and the ability to accept either lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries without structural changes.
Germany has also put financing near the center of its pitch, with Reuters reporting that state guarantees were planned for 3 boats, spare parts, and training.
Naval Group’s Scorpène sits in a larger class, with variants around 236 feet and roughly 1,760 to 2,200 short tons on the surface. It brings more internal volume and a mature regional industrial path through Brazil’s Itaguaí complex, where Scorpène-derived submarines have been built under a technology-transfer program. That capacity may offer more room for growth, but it would likely mean a more complex and expensive program.
Thus, the contest is not simply old Europe versus rising Asia. It is compact continuity, larger proven capacity—or a newer co-development model built around Peru. Each option solves a different part of Argentina’s problem.
Money will decide
Submarines are bought once but paid for over decades. Argentina must fund construction, weapons, crew training, basing, maintenance, and periodic modernization while preserving enough money to keep the boats at sea. A design that looks affordable on paper can become expensive if financing is weak or support remains overseas.
That is why South Korea’s proposal deserves attention even though it remains one of several paths. Peru gives it regional credibility and a nearby industrial story, but until Argentina receives binding terms on price, sovereign financing, local workshare, delivery, and through-life support, the HDS-1500 is a serious alternative rather than a decision.
The official project update was published on SIMA Perú’s official Instagram account.
