Rank #58 · Americas
Peru maintains South America's third-largest military by personnel and a defence budget of approximately $3 billion, oriented toward internal security, Shining Path remnant counter-insurgency in the VRAEM valley, and border disputes with Ecuador and Colombia. A landmark 2024 contract for Korean Aerospace Industries FA-50 light combat aircraft is the largest Peruvian air force acquisition in two decades.
Peru's FY2025 defence appropriation of approximately PEN 11.5 billion reflects persistent fiscal pressure; defence spending has lagged GDP growth for most of the past decade, with capital budgets repeatedly frozen to fund social programmes. The FA-50 acquisition — 24 aircraft contracted in 2024 for an estimated $700M from Korea Aerospace Industries — represents the most significant capital injection in years and introduces a new logistics and training chain. Operations costs are dominated by the VRAEM (Valley of the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers) counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency missions, where remnants of the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) operate alongside narco-trafficking networks. Personnel costs account for ~60% of the total budget.
The Peruvian Armed Forces comprise the Army (~74,000), Navy (~14,000), and Air Force (~17,000), with a 188,000-strong reserve. The Army operates T-55 tanks, Mi-17 and Mi-8 helicopters, and wheeled vehicles — largely Soviet and Russian-origin equipment in various states of readiness. The Navy operates two German-built Type 209/1200 submarines, eight frigates (Lupo and Carvajal classes), and an Amazon river flotilla essential for jungle logistics. The Air Force has historically operated Su-25 and Su-27 Flankers alongside ageing Mirage 2000s; the FA-50 purchase will replace the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly light attack fleet and provide a modern lead-in fighter-trainer. A joint command (CCFFAA) coordinates multi-domain operations in the VRAEM.
Peru has limited domestic defence manufacturing. SIMA (Servicios Industriales de la Marina) operates shipyard facilities in Callao capable of building and overhauling vessels up to frigate size, and has constructed river patrol boats domestically. FAME (Fábrica de Armas y Municiones del Ejército) produces small arms, ammunition, and explosives. Beyond this, Peru imports nearly all major platforms, with a historically diverse supplier base including France (Mirage 2000), Russia/USSR (Su-25, Su-27, T-55, BMP, Mi helicopters), the US, and now South Korea. The FA-50 contract includes a local maintenance, repair, and overhaul component with SIMA/FAME involvement, intended to build indigenous sustainment capacity over time.
Peru's principal internal security challenge is the VRAEM — the world's largest coca-producing valley — where the Shining Path Militarized Communist Party (MPCP, successor organisation) continues insurgent and narco-trafficking operations against military and police forces. The VRAEM has seen regular combat operations since 2011; casualty rates for security forces averaged 15-25 per year in 2022-2025. The Ecuador border remains a minor but active concern following the 1995 Cenepa War; a 1998 peace agreement has held but border incidents occur. Relations with Bolivia (land access dispute) and Chile (post-Pinochet maritime boundary) shape a complex regional posture that demands a credible conventional deterrent alongside internal operations.
Peru signed the FA-50 contract with Korea Aerospace Industries in December 2024 for 24 light combat aircraft, with deliveries expected to begin in 2027. This followed competitive evaluation against the M-346 Master and Hawk 128. In early 2026, the Peruvian Navy commissioned PNP Flores, a domestically constructed river patrol vessel built by SIMA Iquitos, as part of the Amazon basin security programme. The VRAEM emergency decree was renewed for the twelfth consecutive year in March 2026, maintaining elevated rules of engagement for military operations. Peru participated in the multilateral UNITAS LXV naval exercise in the Pacific in September 2025.
Peru contracted 24 KAI FA-50 light combat aircraft from South Korea in December 2024 for ~$700M — its largest air force procurement in two decades. The FA-50 replaces ageing Cessna A-37 Dragonflies in the counter-insurgency and border patrol role and introduces a modern AESA radar and beyond-visual-range missile capability.
The VRAEM (Valley of the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers) is Peru's principal internal security challenge — the Shining Path's Militarized Communist Party operates alongside narco-trafficking networks in this coca-producing valley. The military has maintained a counter-insurgency presence since 2011, with annual combat casualties among security forces.
Yes — two German-built Type 209/1200 conventional submarines, BAP La Pedrera and BAP Angamos, based at Callao. Peru operates one of South America's most capable submarine forces, though both boats require modernisation and are ageing.
At ~$3B and 1.2% of GDP, Peru ranks third in South America by absolute spend (behind Brazil and Colombia) but is below regional norms by GDP share. Argentina, Chile, and Colombia all spend a higher proportion of GDP on defence. Peru's fiscal constraints have limited capital investment relative to the size of the force.