Kuwait to Upgrade its Spada Air-Defense Systems
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Kuwait has awarded MBDA a 3-year, EUR 65 million (currently about $86 million) contract to upgrade the Aspide air defense missile batteries deployed by the Kuwaiti air defence brigade. The units and missiles will be upgraded to SPADA 2000 configuration, which uses the Aspide 2000 missile. The contract also covers the supply of ancillary equipment to ensure advanced in-service support and maintenance.
The basic SPADA 2000 configuration consists of a Detection Centre and of 2 Firing Sections (expandable to 4), backed by a 3D volumetric air surveillance radar with track-while-scan of up to 100 air tracks within its 60 km/ 36 mile range, and by an Operation Centre for overall coordination. See further details at Army Technology. Each firing section is composed of a tracking and illumination radar with a 40 km/ 24 mile range, plus the control unit and 2 Aspide 2000 6-pack missile launchers. The Aspide has similarities with the AIM-7 Sparrow, which Selenia produced under license, but it has a more powerful engine as well as original electronics and warhead technology. Aspide 2000 has a notional intercept range of 20km/ 12 miles, offering improved engagement range, better ECM resistance, and improved interception capability against highly maneuvrable low-flying targets.
