The vessels were built by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia in Ferrol, with the lead ship of the class named for Admiral Álvaro de Bazán.

The ships are fitted with the United States Aegis weapons system allowing them to track hundreds of airborne targets simultaneously as part of its air defence network.

The Álvaro de Bazán-class multi-role frigates are one of the few non-US warships to carry the Aegis system and its associated SPY-1D radar.

The Álvaro de Bazán-class frigates are the first modern vessels of the Spanish Navy to incorporate ballistic resistant steel in the hull, along with the power plants being mounted on anti-vibration mounts to reduce noise and make them less detectable by submarines.

These were cancelled but a fifth ship was later added as Cristóbal Colón (F105) (It has some improvements compared to the rest of the frigates of its class).