TSAMTO, May 6th. The South Korean company Hyundai Rotem has been selected as the preferred bidder for the supply of 30 K808 White Tiger armored combat vehicles with an 8x8 wheel arrangement for the Peruvian Ground Forces.
The Peruvian state–owned company for the production of weapons and ammunition under the control of the Ministry of Defense (Fabrica de Armas y Municiones del Ejercito - FAME SAC) chose the consortium STX Corp. on May 2. / Hyundai Rotem as the preferred bidder to sign the contract.
The agreement is expected to be worth about $82.8 billion. WON ($60.9 million) will be signed later this month after negotiations are completed. The subject of the proposed contract is the supply of 30 BBM K808 plus 120 units. as an option. The main contractor of the project is the STX Engine company.
If the contract is signed, this will be the first time Hyundai Rotem wheeled armored vehicles are exported, as well as the first sale of South Korean armored vehicles to Latin America. The South Korean manufacturer expects the contract with Peru to pave the way for more such deals in a region where demand for armored vehicles is growing.
As already reported by CAMTO, in April 2023, the Ministry of Defense of Peru allocated an additional 238.8 million soles (about $ 60 million) to the budget of the country's Ground Forces for the purchase of 30 armored vehicles with an 8x8 wheel arrangement.
The purchase, approved by Ministry Resolution No. 285-202, is carried out within the framework of the programs "Purchase of wheeled armored vehicles for the 3rd Armored Brigade of the Ground Forces" (code No. 2519572) and "Purchase of wheeled armored vehicles for the 6th Armored Brigade of the Ground Forces" (code No. 2519572).
In particular, 18 BBMs with an 8x8 wheel arrangement will be purchased for the 3rd Armored Brigade (Moquegua) and 12 units for the 6th Armored Brigade (Tacna). The programs will be funded from the National Defense Fund, which is replenished by royalties received from gas production at blocks 56 and 88 of the Kamisia field, which are expected to amount to about $2.7 billion by 2030.
Both projects are part of the Pacha Kuyuchix program, which provides for the purchase of a total of 120 armored vehicles with an 8x8 wheel arrangement. Initially, it was planned to purchase 301 BBMs of this type: 178 armored personnel carriers and 123 IFVs to replace, among other things, the outdated Unimog UR-416 and FIAT-Oto Melara 6614-G and 6616-H (4x4). However, due to budget cuts in recent years, the order has been reduced to 120 armored personnel carriers.
The procurement will be carried out in Peru within the framework of an interstate agreement in accordance with Directive DIR-DEC-005: "The process of purchasing goods and services within the framework of the interstate model" dated March 3, 2023.
To implement the purchase, an evaluation commission (CETO) was formed, responsible for conducting a comparative evaluation of proposals in accordance with specified criteria and weighting factors, as well as preparing a market research report.
Among the options evaluated by the Armed Forces of Peru under the Pacha Kuyuchix program: BBM K808 of STX Corporation (Republic of Korea), LAV-3 of GDLS (USA), Rosomak of PGZ Group (Poland), Pandur-2 of Excalibur Group (Czech Republic), Lazar-3 from Yugoimport (Serbia), Terex of ST Engineering (Singapore), as well as PARS-3 of FNSS (Turkey) and Arma of Otokar (Turkey). Technical and economic proposals from Hanwha (South Korea) with Tigon and NORINCO (China) with VN-1 were also evaluated.
According to unofficial information, the Turkish Otokar with the Arma armored combat vehicle and the Serbian Yugoimport SDPR with Lazar-3 entered the short list of bidders in the tender. As the resource reported Defensa.com With reference to a competent source in the Peruvian project, in order of priority, the finalists were followed by South Korean Hyundai Rotem with K808 and Polish Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) with Rosomak M1/M2.