At Skeppsbrokajen in Stockholm, the Swedish warship Belos docked on Friday morning.

Some distance away, the 260-meter-long amphibious ship USS Kearsarge from the USA had already found its place.

- Actually, this ship is a bit too big for the Baltic Sea, but it indicates that they want to signal very clearly here, says Niklas Granholm, research leader at FOI.

The signals have to do with the war and Sweden's NATO application.

Before Sweden is eventually approved as a member country, we are in a sensitive time when the country may be exposed to various attacks.

From countries such as Germany, the USA and the UK, assurances to help Sweden have been expressed.

Hultqvist: "Clear marking"

Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist believes that military activity in the Baltic Sea has increased, and according to him, the accumulation of ships in connection with Baltops is partly about a marking in the same direction.

- It is clear that this year, with a NATO application from both Finland and Sweden, there will be a different charge around it.

This will be a clear indication of the support for Sweden and Finland.

This weekend, we will have about 40 ships represented here in the Stockholm region on the occasion of the navy's 500th anniversary, and that alone is a powerful manifestation, he says.

Sweden participates with NATO forces

This weekend, the major exercise Baltops begins, which is one of several exercises held in and around the Baltic Sea since April this year.

Sweden has participated in several of them, including together with Finnish and American warships up in the northern Baltic Sea, but also together with NATO's standing naval force when it practiced with the submarine HMS Uppland.

The Left Party's foreign policy spokesperson, Håkan Svenneling, thinks it is good that other countries are prepared to stand up for Sweden, in which exercise activities are an important part.

- On the other hand, there is a risk that it also raises the temperature in our immediate area and that we get more incidents with Russian aircraft flying to Sweden, for example, and there is a risk that mistakes lead to long-term consequences, he says.