ITS  Cigala Fulgosi, is the first of four Units, representing a notable improvement in the second line fighting platforms, especially regarding the overall architecture, the logistics, the automation of the platform functions, and thanks to a highly integrated state-of-the-art Command and Control System. The Unit can carry out mid-range patrol operations that can be synthesized as  international waters surveillance, vigilance over maritime frontiers and Exclusive Economic Zone surveillance. They mainly aim at protecting national interests, and they can also include rescue interventions.

Her innovative design allows solutions to reduce the radar signature and important changes in the Unit’s geometry, hence an unusual inclination of the outer walls of the hull and super-structure.
The stern supports a flying deck leading to a telescopic hangar for AB 212 and NH 90 helicopters.

Characterized by technology, reliability and safety, this Unit meets the recent needs for a tangible renovation inseparable from the presence of seafarers. In fact, these very improvements enhance high professionalism and specific skills of seamen who, supported by adequate means, can  fulfill their institutional duties at their best.

The Unit bears the name of a valiant Officer of the Italian Navy, Lieutenant Commander Giuseppe CIGALA FULGOSI, a soldier of unquestioned great-heartedness who served his country during WW2 with enlightened recklessness and great skills.

During the Crete battle,  he stood out for his heroic action  on the Aegean Sea on May 22, 1941, against a Royal Navy formation that entitled him to the Gold Medal for Bravery with the following motivation:

“At the command of a Destroyer escorting a fleet of auxiliary motor ships with German troops on their way to Crete to occupy the island, having sighted in broad daylight a considerable enemy formation of cruisers and destroyers, he maneuvered with great skills and purposefulness in order to conceal the convoy from the enemy ships; he then attacked with audaciousness, defying the enemy’s overwhelming superiority and their violent shooting, he sunk a cruiser with a torpedo. Thanks to his heroic deed, the convoy was successfully spared from destruction.”   
(Aegean Sea, May 22, 1941)

The Unit’s motto “Virtutis Fortuna Comes”, formerly assigned to the  Coastal Tug San Marino, means “luck is bravery’s mate”; where “luck” is to be understood as “good luck”, hence, “good luck stays with those who act valiantly.”