The FAI was a pre-war armored car design that was built in relatively large numbers, enough to allow it to see service during the opening stages of World War II. The FAI was based on the Ford A civilian car which had been provided to the USSR in the late 1920s and was also adapted locally as the GAZ-A. Experience from the earlier D-8/12 armored cars allowed the new vehicle to have superior combat characteristics, albeit with the limitations inherent of using a civilian vehicle (particularly in terms of off-road performance) as its basis. The FAI featured a real-wheel 4x2 configuration with modest armor protection against small caliber weapons. It's main advantage over the D-8/12 was the incorporation a fully rotating turret which was equipped with a 7.62-mm DT machine gun. The FAI served as the basis of the highly similar BA-20, which incorporated further refinements to the basic design but was not immediately replaced. As such, the FAI was used in combat during the Spanish Civil War, Khalkhin Gol, and the Winter War. Over 400 were on hand at the time of the German invasion and they served until early 1942 before being replaced by the BA-20 and BA-64.

Development of the FAI began in mid-1932 with the first production vehicles appearing the following year. It's unconventional designation referred to (F)ord (A) and the designer (I)zhorskiy. An improved variant was known as the FAI-M which was based on the GAZ-M1 and featured a larger fuel tank. A later variant known as the FAI-zd was produced in small numbers in 1936.