Aspide

Last updated
Aspide
Misil Aspide.jpg
TypeMedium range Surface to air missile/ Air to air missile
Place of originItaly
Production history
Manufacturer Selenia (former), MBDA Italy
Produced1973
Specifications
Mass220 kg
Length3.72 m
Diameter234 mm
Wingspan80 cm

Effective firing range25 km for SAM 40km for AAM
Warhead35 kg warhead

Maximum speed 4920 km/h (mach 4)

Aspide (the Italian name for the asp) is an Italian medium range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile produced by Selenia (then by Alenia Aeronautica, now a part of Leonardo S.p.A.). It is provided with semi-active radar homing seeker. It is very similar to the American AIM-7 Sparrow, using the same airframe, but uses an inverse monopulse seeker that is far more accurate and much less susceptible to ECM than the original conical scanning version.

Contents

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 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 In the latter role it has been replaced by the MBDA Aster. Naval Aspide launchers can be adapted to fire the 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 arms embargo imposed after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, China was unable to purchase additional Aspide kits. [1] 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. [2] It weighs about 75 kg and produces 50 kN of thrust for 3.5 s.

Variants

Systems

Four-tube Aspide/Sparrow launcher with Sparrow missile Skyguard Sparrow Missile Launcher Display at Ching Chuang Kang AFB 20161126a.jpg
Four-tube Aspide/Sparrow launcher with Sparrow missile

Operators

Albatros Mk.2 air defense system Mk.29 Aspide/Sparrow launcher Lanciatore Albatros e radar.jpg
Albatros Mk.2 air defense system Mk.29 Aspide/Sparrow launcher
Skyguard II cabin with radar & optics Skyguard.jpg
Skyguard II cabin with radar & optics
Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
- MEKO 360 ships, 150 Mk1 ordered in 1979 and delivered in 1983–1984
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
- 100 Aspide 2000 ordered in 1996 and delivered in 2001–2004 - São Paulo aircraft carrier, Niterói class frigates
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  People's Republic of China
- 90 Aspide Mk.1 ordered in 1986 and delivered in 1987–1991. Technology used in development of PL-11
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus
- 130 used in existing Skyguard system; ordered in 1991 and delivered in 1991–1992 (deal worth $114 m included 12 launchers)
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador
- 50 used on Esmeraldas Class Corvette (variant of Fincantieri Tipo 550); ordered in 1979 and delivered in 1982–1984
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt
– 72 used on Descubierta (Abu Qir) class corvettes; ordered in 1983 and delivered in 1984
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
- 75 for Elli-class frigates (variant of Kortenaer-class); ordered in 1980 and delivered in 1981–198
Six-tube Aspide launcher Batteria.missili.italia.jpg
Six-tube Aspide launcher
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
- 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
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait
- 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 $565m deal, for modernization Aspide; 250 Aspide 2000 ordered in 2007 and delivered in 2008–2013 part of $65 m deal for Skyguard AD systems [5]
Flag of Libya.svg  Libya
- 8 ordered in 1978 and delivered in 1983 for use on Albatros Mk.2 SAM on modernised Libyan frigate Dat Assawari
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia
- 18 ordered in 1995 and delivered in 1997 for Laksamana Class corvette
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
- Used in the frigate 501 Lt. Col. Errhamani (Descubierta); 40 ordered in 1977 and delivered in 1983
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
- 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
Spada 2000 RAC 3D radar RAC3D.JPG
Spada 2000 RAC 3D radar
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan
- 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 [6]
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru
- 150 ordered in 1974 and delivered in 1979–87 for use on Lupo (Carvajal) class frigate
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
- 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
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
– 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
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey
- 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 200T-2 (Barbaros class) frigate
Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela
- 100 ordered in 1975 and delivered in 1980–1982 for use with Albatros Mk.2 SAM system on Lupo Class frigates
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
- 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 system from the US, along with the Italian made Aspide. [7] [8] On 22 July 2023, two ZALA Lancet drones destroyed a Aspide air defense system's fire control station and a launcher [9]

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References

  1. "PL-11". Sinodefence. Archived from the original on 2006-05-27. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  2. "Roketsan Aspide Engine". Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  3. "Aspide". Astronautix. Archived from the original on 2006-11-19. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  4. "La Armada argentina recibe primer lote de motores renovados para el misil Aspide". Infodefensa.
  5. "MDBA aggiorna il sistema Aspide del Kuwait". Dedalo news. Archived from the original on 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  6. "Il sistema Spada 2000 plus è la difesa dei cieli pakistani". Cesi Italia. Archived from the original on 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  7. "Ukraine hails new air defences, warns power situation 'tense'". 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  8. "Spain to supply HAWK and Aspide air defense missiles to Ukraine army". 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  9. "우크라이나 스카이가드 아스피드 방공시스템이 란셋에 피격 당한듯 - 군사 마이너 갤러리".