Lazaga-class patrol vessel

Their early retirement from the Spanish Navy prompted an inquiry in the Spanish senate[1] about the reasons for their decommissioning; some of the reasons presented included lack of endurance and lack of a helicopter capability. It seems, however, that the navy was using the ships for roles more complex than those initially designed for. Under its initial German design, the ships were designed for fast attack by the German Navy as fast attack ships using Exocet missiles in the Baltic Sea, allowing for quick return to their bases. In Spain, that was their initial use as well, and they included a modern targeting system Signaal (now Thales) WM-22, similar to that used in the Descubierta-class corvette (WM-25) and in the Santa Maria-class frigate (WM-28). Budgetary restrictions did not allow that plan to be fully completed and they were not fitted with missile capability in the end, which left them stripped of one of their most important capabilities.

The creation of the Maritime service of the Civil Guard (Spanish: Servicio Marítimo de la Guardia Civil) only sped up their demise in the Spanish Navy, since many small and midsize boats were decommissioned from the navy as some of the coast guard functions were transferred to the new service.

Some of their systems, including the Oto Melara 76 mm/62 cannon, the diesel engines and the surface search radar were dismounted and used as spare parts for the Descubierta-class corvettes which shared those systems.

Some of the systems, including the 76 mm/62 Oto Melara cannons, their targeting systems were ceded to the Royal Moroccan Navy. In 2008, two of the Moroccan vessels were upgraded in Cartagena, Spain, for an estimated amount of US$ 10 million[2]

Two of these boats were transferred to the Colombian Navy in 1997, where they served until 2009 when they were finally disposed of and sunk as part of the "Pelícano II" training exercises.[3]