The Sparviero-class fast attack hydrofoil was designed in Italy by the Alinavi society, a consortium of the American company Boeing, the Italian government's naval research branch, and Carlo Rodriquez , a Messina-based builder of commercial hydrofoils, based on Boeing's Tucumcari for the United States Navy.

Armament consisted of two Otomat anti-ship missiles aft and a single Oto Melara 76 mm (3.0 in) rapid-fire gun forward.

[3][7] The new boats, built by Fincantieri at Muggiano, entered service from 1982 to 1984, and differed from the prototype in having a more advanced installation for the Otomat missiles (using the Teseo control system) and having water injection fitted to the gas turbines.

[2][5][6] The class proved to be underpowered, and it was hoped to re-engine them with more powerful (4,768 kW; 6,394 bhp) Alison gas turbines, but these plans were later abandoned.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) selected a modified version of the Sparviero class as a replacement for its PT 11-class torpedo boats.