The four ships were named after the naval officers Giuseppe Cigala Fulgosi , Costantino Borsini , Ener Bettica and Adriano Foscari . Although the ships had already been taken into active service in 2002, they did not receive their naval flag ( bandiera di combattimento ) until January 31, 2004 in Cagliari , with which they were officially added to the fleet.
These units are primarily used to monitor coastal waters (e.g. combating migration) and the EEZ (e.g. fisheries protection). They can also be used for embargo enforcement and combat tasks. All four ships are based in Augusta , Sicily , and are under the command of the patrol forces there (COMFORPAT). The units of this class have a stealth design .