SEMAN will locally manufacture components for the South Korean light fighter jet KAI FA-50 in Peru

Por

4 July, 2024

In a new milestone in industrial relations between Peru and South Korea, thanks to recently signed trade agreements, the company SEMAN will locally manufacture components intended for the production of the South Korean light fighter jet KAI FA-50. The news was announced by the Ministry of Defense of Peru, during an official ceremony attended by President Dina Boluarte.

According to the report from yesterday, July 3, the Korean Aerospace Industry (KAI) and the Peruvian Maintenance Service (SEMAN PERÚ S.A.C.) “… signed a commercial agreement so that the Peruvian entity becomes a provider of manufacturing services for aircraft parts of the FA-50 series.” This new development for the Peruvian company, under the Ministry of Defense, has precedents in the assembly and co-production in its facilities of South Korean-origin KT-1P trainers for the Peruvian Air Force between 2014 and 2016, as well as the AS-9100 certification obtained for the production of aeronautical components.

Also noteworthy is the growing partnership between South Korea and Peru in other defense production areas, such as SIMA’s construction of two new Makassar-class LPD ships and patrol vessels in its facilities, and more recently, the selection of Hyundai and STX Corporation’s VCBR 8×8 K808 White Tiger by the Peruvian Army.

As previously reported by Zona Militar, in an interview conducted during FIDAE 2024 with Colonel Sandro Bravo Ullman of the Peruvian Air Force, the current executive manager of the Peruvian Maintenance Service SAC, he detailed the association that SEMAN has with KAI, which can be seen as one of the preliminary steps taken by the company.

Regarding this, he stated: “… in the case of parts manufacturing, which is our third line of business, SEMAN currently has a memorandum of understanding signed with KAI so that in the near future, the Maintenance Service can produce various parts for the aircraft manufactured by KAI. This would make us a supplier of aeronautical parts for an aircraft manufacturer of the caliber of KAI.”

On the occasion of this new agreement, under which SEMAN will manufacture 250 components and parts for the KAI FA-50, which is equipped by the Air Forces of South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and Poland, the head of the defense portfolio, Walter Astudillo Chávez, stated: “We are beginning the modernization of our glorious Air Force. We are expanding the capabilities of our aerospace industry, and soon our sky of Quiñones will have more security with the modernization of the air fleet.”

Although it remains speculative, the official’s statements suggest that the next step in the partnership between the two countries could be advancing towards selecting the FA-50 to equip the Peruvian Air Force.

For her part, President Boluarte said: “We are a sovereign and free nation that provides confidence to foreign capital to invest in the country, helping to boost the national economy.”