Aspide
| Aspide | |
|---|---|
| Type | Medium range Surface to air missile/ Air to air missile |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1977-present |
| Wars | Russo-Ukrainian War |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Selenia (former), MBDA Italy |
| Produced | 1973-present |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | Aspide Mk. 1: 220 kg (490 lb) Aspide 2000: 240 kg (530 lb) |
| Length | 3.7 m (12 ft) |
| Diameter | Aspide Mk. 1: 203 mm (8.0 in) Aspide 2000: 234 mm (9.2 in) |
| Wingspan | Surface to air: 80 cm (31 in) Air to air: 100 cm (39 in) |
| Effective firing range | Aspide Mk. 1: 15 km (9.3 mi) for surface to air 40 km (25 mi) for air to air Aspide 2000: 20 km (12 mi) for surface to air |
| Warhead | 35 kg (77 lb) |
| Maximum speed | Mach 4 |
Guidance system | semi-active radar homing |
Aspide, named for the asp, is an Italian medium range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile produced by Selenia and its successors, Alenia Aeronautica and MBDA that was developed in the 1970s to replace license built AIM-7 Sparrows then in use on Italian 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 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.