The main task for the Swedish Armed Forces has, for a long time, been to repel a potential foreign invading force. This means all weapon systems are designed for use within Sweden's national borders. "Cluster bombs" are notorious for leaving active un-exploded ordnance (UXO) which failed to detonate upon impact, and for that reason all weapons using sub-munitions for a long time were rejected by the Försvarets Materielverk Defence Materiel Administration deeming it an unacceptable risk.

There was a significant need for a weapon that have a smaller risk area than a bomb (sometimes called a mine-bomb in Swedish literature), and have the capacity to destroy a large number of targets attacking in mass. A project to develop such a weapon was initiated in cooperation with a weapons manufacturer. The system was called a sub-munition dispenser to clarify the difference between it and an older type cluster weapon. A significant amount of resources was devoted to developing this system, and to make sure that no matter what happened, an UXO would never become active and pose a danger to the civilian populace.

Unlike the cluster weapons common at the time, every component in this sub-munitions dispenser has been designed so that it cannot leave active, un-exploded sub-munitions. For example, a sub-munition cannot detonate without a correct launch indication. If a faulty sub-munition was to be launched from the pod and by some unlikely event become active on the ground, the internal system has been designed so that the sub-munition cannot detonate for any reason, since it didn't receive a correct launch indication. There are many other design features resulting in that no active un-exploded ordnance is left. The details about exactly how this is achieved are all classified.