“When I get this type of behavior reported to me, I get an impression that these are attempts of spying,” he added. ​In a case reported by Dagens Nyheter, a person in a car registered in an “eastern state” was encountered during the exercise. Although no concrete evidence has been presented, Sweden’s Defense College strategic analyst Stefan Ring also hinted Russia may be behind the spying. Aurora 17 was a Swedish national defense exercise featuring all of Sweden’s combat forces, the nation’s largest since 1993. The US reportedly contributed a tiltrotor military aircraft of the CV-22 Osprey class, whereas Sweden engaged their Special Operations Group (SOG).