South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem Co. has signed a framework agreement with Peru’s state-owned defense company FAME S.A.C. to supply 195 armored vehicles in a transaction valued at ₩2.5 trillion to ₩3 trillion ($1.7 billion to $2.0 billion).
The tentative deal covers 54 K2 battle tanks and 141 K808 wheeled armored carriers, according to South Korea’s presidential office. Both sides expect to finalize the contract by June 2026.
If completed, the transaction would represent Seoul’s largest defense export to Latin America and mark the K2’s first sale beyond Europe, where Poland remains the primary customer. Hyundai Rotem signed a $6.5 billion K2 contract with Warsaw in 2022, with a follow-up order for 180 additional tanks agreed in August.
The agreement builds on a ground-combat systems cooperation pact between Seoul and Lima reached last year. Peru has been seeking to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-era T-55 tanks, some dating to the 1970s.
Peruvian President José Jerí and Lee Yong-cheol, head of South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration, attended the signing ceremony in Lima. Hyundai Rotem has previously indicated plans to invest approximately $270 million to establish local assembly facilities in Peru, potentially enabling domestic production of both tanks and armored vehicles over a 15-year timeline.
