The first of these agencies, FFA, had been created in 1940 in Bromma, Stockholm as a governmental research institute for the Swedish aviation industry, large parts of which were devoted to military aircraft.
Initially, all FOA activities were located in the Stockholm region, but in the 1970s some parts were relocated to Karlstad, Linköping, and Umeå.
FOI also receives funding from other Swedish government institutions and, to a lesser extent, from the EU.
FOI also conducts research commissioned by private customers on commercial terms, including outside Sweden.
[3] The activities of FOI include research, development of technology, and analysis, primarily for military defence, but also for civil emergencies, natural disasters, security, and other civilian applications.