Aspide, named for the asp, is an Italian medium range air-to-air and

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

produced by Selenia and its successors,

Alenia Aeronautica Alenia Aeronautica was an Italian aerospace company. Its subsidiary, subsidiaries included Aermacchi, Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronavali. Alenia Aeronautica was also the part-owner of ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR, a joint venture with E ...

and

MBDA MBDA is a European multinational corporation specialized in the design, development and manufacturing of Missile, missiles and related systems.AIM-7 Sparrows then in use on

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

F-104S Starfighter interceptors. It is similar in appearance to the Sparrow, with original versions sharing an airframe with the type and all using a similar

semi-active radar homing Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive dete ...

seeker. This similarity in appearance combined with Selenia's license production of Sparrows has to lead non-Italian press frequently referring to the missile as a Sparrow variant. Compared to Sparrow, Aspide features an inverse monopulse seeker that is far more accurate and much less susceptible to ECM than the original continuous-wave version. Aspide also features new electronics, a new warhead, and a new, more powerful engine. Closed-loop hydraulics were also substituted for Sparrow's open-loop type, which gave Aspide better downrange maneuverability. Surface to air versions of the missile further altered this, replacing the original triangular wings with a newly designed cropped delta version in order to reduce the size of launch canisters. A similar design is the UK's Skyflash, which entered service about the same time. The US's own Sparrow fleet also added an inverse monopulse seeker with AIM-7M in 1982.

Design

Aspide in its various versions was used both in the air-to-air role, carried by Aeritalia F-104s after the ASA upgrade, and in the surface-to-air role from both ground based and shipboard installations. In the former role it has been replaced by

AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) ( ) is an American Beyond-visual-range missile, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It uses active transmit-receive radar guidance ...

and MBDA Meteor, in the latter role it has been replaced by the

MBDA Aster The Aster 15 and Aster 30 are a Franco-Italian family of all-weather, Vertical launching system, vertical launch surface-to-air missiles.Sea Sparrow by merely switching a single circuit board. In the mid 1980s, China imported a small batch of the Aspide Mk. 1 from Italy, then signed an agreement with Alenia to produce the missile locally under license. In 1989, China produced its first batch of Aspide Mk. 1 missiles using imported parts from Italy. However, due to the

EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

arms embargo imposed after the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

, China was unable to purchase additional Aspide kits. China subsequently developed its own missile family based on the Aspide Mk. 1, with surface to air versions designated HQ-6, and an air-to-air version designated PL-11. The rocket engine of the Aspide is currently produced by Turkish missile manufacturer Roketsan. It weighs about 75 kg and produces 50 kN of thrust for 3.5 s.

Variants

* Aspide Mk. 1 – Similar to AIM-7E, with Selenia monopulse semi-active seeker and SNIA-Viscosa solid-propellant rocket motor. This version was popular with export customers, and sold to 17 countries. The surface-to-air systems are Skyguard and Spada. * Aspide Mk. 2 – Improved version with active radar-homing seeker. Development was shelved in favor of better missiles, such as the

. * Aspide 2000 – Improved surface-to-air version of the Aspide Mk.1 featuring a 40% improvement in range, used on export Skyguard and Spada 2000 air-defense systems. * Aspide CITEDEF – Surface-to-air version of the Aspide Mk.1 upgraded by CITEDEF of Argentina.

Systems

Skyguard Sparrow Missile Launcher Display at Ching Chuang Kang AFB 20161126a

* Skyguard I – Surface to air missile complex from

Oerlikon Contraves Rheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products. Oerlikon Contr ...

, supports Sparrow, Aspide, and Skyflash. * Skyguard II – Improved version of Skyguard with added electro-optical tracking and support for Aspide 2000. * Toledo – Skyguard with Skydor fire control system from

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding enterprise dedicated to civil and military naval construction, the design of deep-tech systems and the manufacture of structures for the renewable energy sector, such as offshore wind or hydrogen. ...

. * Spada – Surface to air missile complex from Selenia for the

with Selenia

PLUTO Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...

2D radar. * Spada 2000 – Improved version of Spada with Thomson-CSF RAC 3D radar and support for Aspide 2000. * Albatros Mk. 2 – Naval surface to air missile complex from Selenia developed for the

Italian Navy The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...

, upgradeable to support Aspide 2000.

Operators

;: - 150 Aspide Mk. 1 for

Almirante Brown William Brown (also known in Spanish as Guillermo Brown or ''Almirante'' Brown) (22 June 1777 – 3 March 1857) was an Irish sailor, merchant, and naval commander who served in the Argentine Navy during the wars of the early 19th century. Brown ...

class frigates; ordered in 1979 and delivered in 1983–1984. ;: - 100 Aspide 2000 for aircraft carrier São Paulo and Niterói-class frigates; ordered in 1996 and delivered in 2001–2004. ;: - 90 Aspide Mk. 1 ordered in 1986 and delivered in 1987–1991. Technology used in development of PL-11. ;: - 130 ordered in 1991 and delivered in 1991-1992 as part of a $114 m deal including 12 Skyguard launchers. ;: - 50 ordered in 1979 and delivered in 1982–1984 for Esmeraldas-class corvettes. ;: - 72 ordered in 1983 and delivered in 1984 for Abu Qir-class corvettes. ;: - 75 for Elli-class frigates; ordered in 1980 and delivered in 1981–1988. Batteria

;: - used on-board F-104S along with 7 Spada SAM batteries, 24 Skyguard SAM batteries, and 32 naval Albatros Mk. 2 SAM systems. ;: - 320 Aspide Mk. 1 ordered in 1988 and delivered in 1988–1997 for Skyguard Amoun SAM System; 175 Aspide 2000 ordered in 2007 and delivered in 2008–2010 part of $565m deal; 250 Aspide 2000 ordered in 2007 and delivered in 2008–2013 as part of a $65 m deal for Skyguard air defense systems. ;: - 8 ordered in 1978 and delivered in 1983 for use on Albatros Mk. 2 SAM on modernised Libyan frigate Dat Assawari. ;: - 18 ordered in 1995 and delivered in 1997 for Laksamana-class corvettes. ;: - 40 ordered in 1977 and delivered in 1983 for corvette Lieutenant Colonel Errhamani. ;: - 25 Aspide Mk. 1 ordered in 1977 and delivered in 1982 for Nigerian frigate Aradu; other 10 Aspide Mk. 1 ordered in 1982 and delivered in 1983. RAC3D

;: - 750 Aspide 2000 for 10 Spada 2000 batteries ordered in 2007 and delivered in 2010-2013 part of 415 m Euro deal. ;: - 150 ordered in 1974 and delivered in 1979–87 for use on Carvajal-class frigates. ;: - 200 ordered in 1985 and delivered in 1987–89 part of $230 m deal for 13 Skyguard systems, later upgraded to Skydor, with the missiles retired in 2020; 51 Aspide 2000 ordered in 1996 and delivered in 1997–99 for 2 Spada 2000 SAM systems. ;: – 24 ordered in 1984 and delivered in 1986–1987 for use on Ratanakosin-class corvettes; 75 ordered in 1986 and delivered in 1988 for use by

Royal Thai Army The Royal Thai Army or RTA (; ) is the army of Thailand and the oldest and largest branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. History Origin The Royal Thai Army is responsible for protecting the kingdom's sovereignty. The army was formed in 187 ...

on 1 Spada SAM system. ;: - 144 ordered in 1986 and delivered in 1987–1989 for Yavuz-class frigates; 72 ordered in 1990 and delivered in 1995–1996 for Barbaros-class frigates. ;: - 100 ordered in 1975 and delivered in 1980–1982 for use with Albatros Mk. 2 SAM system on Lupo-class frigates. ;: - Spain will train and donate Aspide 2000 missile systems to Ukraine, with Ukrainian soldiers having finished training on 14 October. On 7 November Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced that Ukraine had received the first NASAMS system from the US, along with the Italian made Aspide.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Albatros , Maritime Superiority, Aspide 2000 solution
MDBA Air-to-air missiles of Italy Naval surface-to-air missiles Military equipment introduced in the 1970s