KAI (Korea Aerospace Industries) and Seman Peru (Peruvian Maintenance Service) signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint production of parts for the Korean FA-50 light fighter, an aircraft that is being promoted for the Peruvian Air Force.
In order to implement an aeronautical parts production line, Seman Peru, a company belonging to the Ministry of Defense, and KAI signed a commercial agreement for the Peruvian entity to become a supplier of aeronautical parts manufacturing services for the FA-50 aircraft.
«We are starting the modernization of our glorious Air Force. We are expanding the capabilities of our aerospace industry and soon our Quiñones sky will have more security with the modernization of the air fleet,» said the President of the Republic, Dina Boluarte, who presided over the signing ceremony of the agreement, accompanied by the Minister of Defense, Walter Astudillo Chávez, the Deputy of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Kang Hwan-seok and the South Korean Ambassador to Peru, Choi Jong-wook.
SEMAN already has experience working with KAI, as between 2014 and 2016, it was in charge of locally assembling 16 of the 20 KT-1P «Torito» trainers acquired by the Peruvian Air Force (FAP) in 2012.
KAI, precisely, selected Seman Peru for its positive experience in the manufacture of structural parts for the KT-1P, as well as for the AS-9100 Certification that the Peruvian company holds, which accredits it as a manufacturer of aeronautical parts.
The signed agreement is part of the negotiations between Peru and South Korea for the eventual purchase of 20 to 24 FA-50 light fighters to replace the Aermacchi MB-339 and Cessna A-37B Dragonfly, already retired from the FAP.
According to KAI, its FA-50 is also being considered for the replacement of the Mirage 2000 and MiG-29, which currently form the spearhead of the FAP. Seoul is also offering the Peruvian government the possibility of joining the KF-21 Boramae project in place of Indonesia, which was unable to honor its commitments to its Korean partners.
As a result of the agreement, SEMAN Peru is to produce approximately 250 structural parts for the FA-50 light fighter aircraft. This number could eventually be expanded, as KAI is concentrating its marketing capabilities in the region, given that there are many countries with potential demand for the replacement of older fighter aircraft more than 30 years old.
