On 1 September 1970 the army's Electronic Defense Center in Anzio formed a Signals Intelligence Team (Italian: Nucleo SIGINT). On 1 November 1972 the team was expanded to SIGINT Unit and began to build signal interception stations all over Italy.[1]
During the 1975 army reform the army disbanded the regimental level and battalions were granted for the first time their own flags. During the reform signal battalions were renamed for mountain passes.[3] On 1 September 1976 the SIGINT Unit was renamed 8th Signals Intelligence Battalion "Tonale".[1] On the same day the Electronic Defense Center's IX Electronic Warfare Battalion was renamed 9th Electronic Warfare Battalion "Rombo".[4]
The battalion became the spiritual successor of the Special Marconists Battalion, which had been formed by the 8th Engineer Regiment during World War II, and was the Royal Italian Army General Staff's signal interception and radio direction finding battalion. The 8th Signals Intelligence Battalion "Tonale" consisted of a command, a command and services platoon, and two SIGINT companies.[1] On 12 November 1976 the President of the Italian Republic Giovanni Leone issued decree 846, which granted the battalion a new flag.[5] The flags of the Tonale, 9th Electronic Warfare Battalion "Rombo", and Electronic Defense Center arrived at the units on 22 March 1977.[1]
On 2 January 1987 the battalion doubled in size and now consisted of a command, a command and services company, and four SIGINT companies.[1]
On 1 January 1998 the 8th Signals Intelligence Battalion "Tonale" was disbanded and its personnel transferred either to the 33rd Electronic Warfare Battalion "Falzarego" or the Information and Security Department of the Italian Armed Forces' General Staff, while the battalion's flag was transferred to the Shrine of the Flags in the Vittoriano in Rome.[6]
On 27 August 2001 the battalion was reformed as Battalion "Tonale" and assigned to the 11th Signal Regiment as the regiment's second signal battalion.[7]