Successfully firing Aspide 2000 ground-to-air missile for Kuwait Army Air Defence Brigade 1501131.

Defence Industry News - MBDA

Both targets were destroyed, in one case by a direct hit and in the other by a close-range explosion. Intercept took place at a range of around 6 km and at an altitude of around 1,500 metres. These successful intercepts add to the already solid evidence of the reliability of this MBDA missile.

During the exercise, Aspide 2000 achieved a launch record for Kuwait - all 19 launches since 2007 having been successful despite varying weather conditions, with launches taking place both at night and day, at both medium and long ranges and at both high and low altitude.

The success of this latest Kuwait exercise is further confirmation of Aspide's effectiveness – 5,000 missiles have been produced to date - and of the robustness of the modernised system’s design. This is yet another boost to the export potential of a missile that international markets are increasingly considering as one of the best performing in the medium-range ground-to-air missile sector.

The ASPIDE 2000 missile is the powerful upgraded version of the ASPIDE multi-role missile for use in surface-to-air systems.

The ASPIDE 2000 is equipped with an enhanced single stage rocket motor to increase the missile speed, lateral acceleration and effective range by as much as 40% compared to the ASPIDE baseline missile.

It incorporates all modern electronic features to improve its guidance characteristics and effectiveness in heavy clutter and ECM environments.