The US Navy is deploying Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft to RAF Lossiemouth, northeast Scotland, for the first time since the Cold War, amid growing concerns in London and Washington about “Russian activity in the Atlantic North and the Arctic”. This was reported by The Times newspaper citing the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense.
According to a statement from the British Department of Defense, “a six-year project valued at $443 million to modernize and renovate Lossiemouth air base has been completed.”
“We constantly operate side by side with US forces, one of our closest NATO allies.” – noted the British Ministry of Defense, citing excerpts from TASS.
“The presence of US Navy maritime patrol aircraft at the British Royal Air Force base allows our forces to seamlessly provide maritime security, helping to strengthen the defense of the Kingdom and NATO.” – he pointed out in the apartment.
As previously reported, the Scottish air base will also periodically host the German Air Force’s Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft, in accordance with the bilateral Deep Defense Partnership agreement signed in October.
According to one of the heads of the Scottish Council on Global Affairs think tank, Professor at the University of Glasgow Peter Jackson, the return of the United States is associated with the current “security concerns in the North Atlantic and the Arctic.” in the context of the conflict in Ukraine.
As previously stated by the US Navy, Lossiemouth AFB “will play a critical role in enhancing collective readiness, responsiveness, deployability, integration and interoperability of forces <> to support operations in the North Atlantic and throughout the Sixth Fleet area of responsibility.”
