Fallon announces £1.7 billion investment in Scottish military bases

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has confirmed that £1.7 billion will be invested to upgrade Scottish military bases as the Ministry Of Defence’s (MoD) Defence Board convened in Edinburgh for the first time.

Fallon outlined that Scotland is set to become home to several additional key defence capabilities by 2020.

In a statement, the MoD said that Scotland’s 14,000 military regular and reserve personnel and 3,930 MoD civilians are set to benefit from: £1.3 billion investment into upgrades to HM Naval Base Clyde’s waterfront, engineering support, accommodation and physical security ahead of the Dreadnought class of deterrent submarines arriving in Scotland from the early 2030s.

There will also be a £400 million investment at Lossiemouth as one of the RAF’s three fast jet bases - upgrading its runways, taxiways and accommodation for the nine new Poseidon P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and an additional Typhoon squadron.

Fallon said: “Scotland is on the front-line of defending the United Kingdom from growing threats at sea, in the air, and on land. Our commitment to the future of defence in Scotland is underlined by increasing investment in better infrastructure for the Armed Forces helping to keep us safe.