The Weapons, Protection and Security Division conducts research in support of the Armed Forces. The division is located in Grindsjön, to the south of Stockholm. Its primary activity is research, and it conducts various kinds of investigations and tests in support of the Swedish Armed Forces and other commissioning organisations. The Armed Forces place great importance on explosives, their use in weapons and protection against them, but this expertise is also relevant in supporting the needs of civil society. A wide range of research is undertaken, from the study of physical and chemical phenomena to the development of complex technical systems. Ready access to proving grounds and explosive material-certified laboratories is essential for all activities where theory and experimentation interact.

Experimental facilities

At Grindsjön, methods for designing and evaluating physical protection against military weapon effects, terrorism and sabotage are developed. The unique experimental resources available allow everything from standardised testing to qualified studies of correlations between today’s warheads and protection technologies and those of the future.

Accessible experimental facilities also enable large-scale firing and explosion trials. The results are converted into technical data via model development and with the aid of modern computational and evaluation tools, supporting both decision-making with regard to the vulnerability of i.e. people and buildings, and the assessment of the potential of new weapons and protective techniques.

Research

Research focuses on combining experimental data with theoretical modeling. Central areas of expertise:

• Explosives and ammunition safety, aiming to understand all aspects of explosives properties.
• Propulsion, aiming to understand the processes through which projectiles are ejected and robots are propelled.
• Electromagnetic weapons, i.e. weapons that utilize electromagnetic energy to interact with the target.
• Protection and weapon effects, where the weapon and its function, and protection against it are in focus.
• Assessment of weapon effects and vulnerabilities, where the probability of loss of capabilities and functions of a target after an attack is studied.

Resilience against explosives threats works comprehensively on protection for the armed forces and civil society. This area encompasses prevention, explosives detection, risk assessment and mitigation, e.g. protection of infrastructure and fortifications.

Development

The explosive materials program comprises research, development, testing, demilitarization and small-scale fabrication of explosive materials. FOI’s competence in areas such as synthesis, formulation, analysis, characterization and initiation of explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics has been centralized in Grindsjön. Development in space applications and anti-terrorism is also underway. Also conducted here are classification and functional testing of explosive materials, risk analysis associated with inflammable and explosive materials as well as education and training within the field of explosive materials.

Testing

Tests of the security and safety of ammunition are carried out through, among other things, missile engine testing, and stability and aging studies. Tests are done to support risk analysis and verifying that everything works as expected.