The aim of the project is to trace the history of the Swedish military-industrial complex after 1945. The focus of the study will be the long series of advanced combat aircraft that have been produced by the Swedish defence industry. First, the military aircraft programmes have been technically and economically important for central and technically dominant parts of Swedish industry. Second, they have constituted a major part of Sweden's defence and represented its aim for high technology. Third, they have had a tremendous impact as politically symbolic markers of an independent, high-profile, Swedish foreign policy. Swedish non-alliance has been conditioned by the existence of an advanced defence industry. The policy of neutrality can thus be regarded as a basis for the legitimacy of Sweden's Military-Industrial Complex and as a necessary condition for its existence.
The study is urgent for several reasons. First, the Swedish defence industry since the Second World War has been a neglected research area and historical research on the defence industry during the period is almost totally lacking. Second, there are no Swedish studies of the interest constellation of the military, politics and industry, commonly referred to in international research as the 'Military-Industrial Complex' (MIC). Third, internationally this is a vital research area, which makes it even more puzzling that the Swedish case has not been researched. Fourth, there are reasons to assume that Sweden's MIC has played an important but previously disregarded role in the country's modern political and economic history.