(Bloomberg) -- A military exercise in Finland is set to close a stretch of one of the country’s biggest roads for almost a week as the Nordic NATO invitee displays its defenses.

The national road 4, a key thoroughfare connecting Helsinki in the south with Finland’s northernmost parts will be closed on a 5-kilometer (3-mile) section on Sunday, sending cars and trucks to a country-road detour that will add an hour to travel times until the end of September. The air force will build a temporary base on the road to practice fighter jet take-offs and landings, including participation from Finland’s F/A-18 Hornets.

The Baana 22 exercise is taking place just days after neighboring Russia announced a partial mobilization to supply more troops to the war it’s waging in Ukraine. That attack in the spring pushed Finland and Sweden to seek increased protections and deterrence by applying to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

While Finnish officials stress the situation on the 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) eastern border is calm, increased military training activity is in part intended to showcase strength and preparedness as the Nordic countries await for NATO members to ratify their accession.

Other training activity is also bringing in troops from NATO members as added protection on the doorstep of the military alliance. The exercise Freezing Winds 22 will see about 150 US Marines in Finland for two months starting in October. Its navy has welcomed vessels such as the USS Kearsarge and a French mine countermeasures vessel Cephee, while the army has hosted US special operations forces and UK troops over the summer.

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.