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.

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.

Closed-loop hydraulics were also substituted for Sparrow's open-loop type, which gave Aspide better downrange maneuverability.

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.

However, due to the EEC arms embargo imposed after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, China was unable to purchase additional Aspide kits.