Portugal wants to order two submarines with a displacement ranging from 800 to 1,300 tons from South Korea. They are needed to track russian ships, which are constantly sailing off the coast of Portugal.
Moreover, the Portuguese Navy currently has practically no combat-ready submarines, making the restoration of the underwater component of the national fleet more urgent than ever. This is reported by Opex360.
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It is noted that, currently, the Portuguese Navy has two submarines only "on paper" — NRP Tridente and NRP Arpão, which belong to the Tridente project (development of the Type 214 project). Both joined the ranks in 2010. The initial plan included ordering three such submarines but it was not implemented.
These submarines have a displacement of 2,020 tons, a hull length of 67.7 meters, a width of 6.6 meters, an autonomy of up to 45 days, and a crew of 33 personnel. Their armament includes eight 533 mm torpedo tubes with 14 torpedoes and the capability to launch Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
The nuance is that NRP Tridente has been stuck in major repairs since 2022, and NRP Arpão had hydraulic problems discovered in March 2025. In theory, both submarines can be repaired, but the issue of missing capabilities remains.
To resolve the issue, the Portuguese Navy is looking to acquire either two small 800–1,300 ton submarines from South Korea or a single submarine comparable to the Tridente-class.
However, the key nuance is that the submarines Portugal seeks have yet to be designed. In a memorandum of cooperation with Portugal, South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries stated that it could build submarines with displacements of 800, 1,500, or 2,300 tons upon request. However, the main proposal at this stage is the HDS-1500 project, which has already been offered to Peru.
Moreover, the specifics of the deal are still uncertain, including the timeline for delivery and the amount Portugal is prepared to invest.
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