Scottish Secretary Alister Jack lands at RAF Lossiemouth to outline UK's defence future
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THE Secretary of State for Scotland touched down in Moray today to outline plans for more defence investment and jobs for Scotland as the UK's armed forces undergo the biggest shake-up since the Cold War.
In a keynote speech from a new Poseidon hangar at RAF Lossiemouth, Alister Jack MP addressed station personnel alongside Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston.
Mr Jack said the last eight days had been "the biggest in generations for the defence sector" as the UK Government's Defence and Security Industrial Strategy is published today following its defence Command Paper yesterday. Last week it also published the Integrated Review of security and international policy.
The Scottish Secretary said that, together, these "demonstrate powerfully how important defence is to Scotland – and how important Scotland is to the defence of the UK and, indeed, our NATO allies".
The UK Government plans to modernise and adapt its armed forces supported by additional investment of £24 billion over the next four years.
Mr Jack said: "This will see Scotland benefit from increased investment and skilled jobs in traditional areas such as shipbuilding, and in rapidly developing areas such as cyber and space."
Five of the nine planned Poseidon submarine-hunting aircraft have now arrived at RAF Lossiemouth to secure north Atlantic waters.
The base will also become home for a new fleet of three Boeing E-7 Wedgetail surveillance aircraft by 2024 – bringing another 550 RAF personnel and their families to Moray.
Mr Jack said: "The significance of RAF Lossiemouth is clear, as it continues to expand and modernise as home to four front-line Typhoon squadrons, Poseidon P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, and the RAF’s new Wedgetail E-7 early-warning aircraft.
"I think Moray, if you take the air base here, becomes incredibly important in the future because the patrolling of the north Atlantic, whether it's on the surface of the sea, or subsea patrols, is incredibly important to our future security, and this strategically is the best base we have for that."
Kinloss Barracks will not be altered by planned cuts in troop numbers outlined in the Command Paper, Mr Jack said.
He said: "The threshold for the Army at the moment is 82,000. It's reducing to 72,000, but actually the current strength of the Army is 76,000.
"So the reduction is only 4000 personnel over 10 years and that will happen naturally as people retire."
Mr Jack said the Integrated Review addressed national security and international policy together to stay ahead of evolving threats, adding that "the threats of the 21st Century are different".
"We need to be prepared for high-tech war-fighting and to defend ourselves from cyber attacks and disinformation."
He said: "In short, this means that we will fortify and extend the position of the UK – and Scotland in particular – as a global science and technology superpower. We will build our cyber strengths and capabilities in the frontiers of cyberspace, emerging technology, data and space."
Sir Mike said RAF Lossiemouth would always be special to him after he led a Tornado squadron from the base 15 years ago.
He added: "Roll forward 15 years and large parts of this base are unrecognisable to me. The aircraft I flew are now in museums, and Lossiemouth has new roles: protecting our skies with Typhoons, protecting our seas with Poseidons."
Sir Mike said as well as the extra personnel the arrival of the Wedgetails will bring – taking the total number of military serving at the base to 2300 – Moray will also have Boeing and other contractors to service the aircraft, creating local employment.
He added: "This is going to be a really important aerospace hub here in Moray for decades to come. That's why we're talking to the local authorities and Boeing about setting up an air academy.
"We can establish apprenticeships and bring people in for work experience. It makes absolute sense to do this on the site at Lossiemouth so that people can understand how these machines work in real life."
