Aspide (the Italian name 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 to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

produced by Selenia (then by

Alenia Aeronautica Alenia Aeronautica was an Italian aerospace company. Its subsidiaries included Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronavali. Alenia Aeronautica was also the part-owner of ATR, a joint venture with European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). ...

, now a part of

Leonardo S.p.A. Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational company specialising in aerospace, defence and security. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the eighth ...

). It is provided with

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 de ...

seeker. It is very similar to the American

AIM-7 Sparrow The AIM-7 Sparrow (Air Intercept Missile) is an American, medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile operated by the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and United States Marine Corps, as well as other various air forces ...

, using the same airframe, but uses an inverse monopulse seeker that is far more accurate and much less susceptible to

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathemat ...

than the original

conical scanning Conical scanning is a system used in early radar units to improve their accuracy, as well as making it easier to steer the antenna properly to point at a target. Conical scanning is similar in concept to the earlier lobe switching concept used ...

version. This resemblance, and that Selenia was provided with the technology know-how of the AIM-7 (around 1,000 of which it had produced under licence), has generally led non-Italian press to refer to the Aspide as a Sparrow variant. However, the Aspide had original electronics and warhead, and a new and more powerful engine. Closed-loop hydraulics were also substituted for Sparrow's open-loop type, which gave Aspide better downrange maneuverability. Even the control surfaces are different, replacing the original triangular wings, fixed in the air-to-air and instead foldable in the surface-to-air version, to a newly designed common

cropped delta A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ). Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...

fixed version. A similar design is the UK's Skyflash, which entered service about the same time. The US's own Sparrow fleet also added a monopulse seeker in the AIM-7M versions of 1982.

Design

Aspide, in its various versions, was used both in the air-to-air role, carried by Aeritalia F-104s in the apposite versions F-104S and F-104ASA, and in the surface-to-air naval role. 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 launch surface-to-air missiles.Sparrow Sparrow may refer to: Birds * Old World sparrows, family Passeridae * New World sparrows, family Passerellidae * two species in the Passerine family Estrildidae: ** Java sparrow ** Timor sparrow * Hedge sparrow, also known as the dunnock or hed ...

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 organization 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 Lis ...

arms embargo imposed after the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Four ...

, 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 as the LY-60, and an air-to-air version designated as PL-11. The rocket engine of the Aspide is produced by Turkish missile manufacturer

Roketsan Roketsan Roket Sanayii ve Ticaret A.S. is a major Turkish weapons manufacturer and defense contractor based in Ankara, Turkey. Incorporated in 1988 by Turkey's Defense Industry Executive Committee (''SSİK'') to establish the nation's industri ...

. 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

AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM (pronounced ), is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It is 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, and employ ...

. * Aspide 2000 – Improved surface-to-air version of the Aspide Mk.1, used on export Skyguard and

Spada 2000 Spada is the Italian word for ''sword'' and a surname of Italian origin. It may refer to: People * Bernardino Spada (1594–1661), Italian Roman Catholic cardinal; patron of the arts * Constanza Spada, stage name of Italian actress, singer and mode ...

air-defense systems. * Aspide Citedef – Surface-to-air version of the Aspide Mk.1 upgraded by

Citedef The Institute of Scientific and Technical Research for Defense ( es, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa, also known for its acronym CITEDEF), is an Argentine federal agency in charge of research and development ...

Systems

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

* Skyguard I – VSHORAD/SHORAD 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 Contra ...

with radar tracking, upgradeable to support Aspide 2000. * Skyguard II – Improved VSHORAD/SHORAD from Oerlikon Contraves with added electro-optical tracking. * Toledo – Skyguard with Skydor fire control system from

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to t ...

and Aspide launchers. * Spada – SHORAD from Selenia 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 S ...

2D radar, upgradeable to support Aspide 2000. *

– Improved SHORAD from

with Thomson-CSF RAC 3D radar. * Albatros Mk.2 – Naval SHORAD from Selenia, upgradeable to support Aspide 2000.

Operators

;: - MEKO 360 ships, 150 Mk1 ordered in 1979 and delivered in 1983-1984 ;: - 100 Aspide 2000 ordered in 1996 and delivered in 2001-2004 -

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

aircraft carrier, ''Niterói'' class frigates ;: - 90 Aspide Mk.1 ordered in 1986 and delivered in 1987-1991. Technology used in development of PL-11 ;: - 130 used in existing Skyguard system; ordered in 1991 and delivered in 1991-1992 (deal worth $114 m included 12 launchers) ;: - 50 used on Esmeraldas Class Corvette (variant of Fincantieri Tipo 550); ordered in 1979 and delivered in 1982-1984 ;: – 72 used on Descubierta (Abu Qir) class corvettes; ordered in 1983 and delivered in 1984 ;: - 75 for Elli-class frigates (variant of Kortenaer-class); ordered in 1980 and delivered in 1981-198 Batteria

;: - used on-board F-104S; used on 7 Spada SAM batteries; used on 24 Skyguard SAM batteries; used on 32 naval Albatros Mk.2 SAM system ;: - 320 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 565 $ m deal, for modernization Aspide; 250 Aspide 2000 ordered in 2007 and delivered in 2008-2013 part of $65 m deal for Skyguard AD 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 corvette ;: - Used in the frigate 501 Lt. Col. Errhamani (Descubierta); 40 ordered in 1977 and delivered in 1983 ;: - 25 Aspide MK.1 ordered in 1977 and delivered in 1982 for Meko-360 ''Aradu'' frigate; other 10 Aspide MK.1 ordered in 1982 and delivered in 1983 RAC3D

;: - 750 Aspide 2000 for ground-based air defence system (10 batteries Spada 2000) 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 Lupo (Carvajal) class frigate ;: - 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 on 1 Spada SAM system ;: - 144 ordered in 1986 and delivered in 1987-1989 for MEKO 200T (Yavuz class) frigate; 72 ordered in 1990 and delivered in 1995-1996 for

MEKO 200 The MEKO 200 is a frigate design by the Blohm + Voss shipyard of Germany, as part of the MEKO family of warships. Variants ''Anzac'' class (MEKO 200ANZ) Ten MEKO 200 frigates were built to the ''Anzac''-class design: eight for the Royal Au ...

T-2 (Barbaros class) frigate ;: - 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 gift Ukraine with the Aspide 2000 missile system, 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 NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, also known as the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) is a distributed and networked short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system developed by Kongsberg Defence & Ae ...

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