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.
Similar or Equivalent weapons are:
AIM-120 AMRAAM
Skyflash
AIM-7 Sparrow
PL-11
R-27
R-77
Ingame stats:
Classnames:
WPN Class
rksla3_wpn_aspide
Mass
Mag Class name
rksla3_mag_aspide_conformalx1
Hardpoint
RKSLA3_ASPIDE_CONFORMAL
230
Ammo Class
rksla3_ammo_aspide_drop
230
submunitionAmmo
NONE
N/A
WPN Class
rksla3_wpn_aspide
Mass
Mag Class name
rksla3_mag_aspide_lau127x1
Hardpoint
RKSLA3_ASPIDE_LAU127
269.5
rksla3_mag_aspide_directx1
RKSLA3_ASPIDE_DIRECT
230
Ammo Class
rksla3_ammo_aspide
230
submunitionAmmo
NONE
N/A
a3_documentation/cvwp/aspide.txt · Last modified: by rock