Gabardini designed the G.9 in parallel with its work on its first fighter design, the Gabardini G.8, which had a similar wing cellule. The G.9 was a metal, fabric-covered, single-bay biplane which differed from the unequal-span G.8 in having a shorter-span upper wing and less cabane bracing. It was powered by the 164-kilowatt (220-horsepower) SPA 6a engine—a more powerful engine than that of any G.8 variant—driving a two-bladed propeller. The Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) did not place a production order for the G.9