Thousands of armed forces personnel will be deployed and “held at high readiness” across Scotland this Christmas as part of UK resilience operations.
Around 6,400 servicemen and women will be serving throughout the festive season on 39 operations across 46 countries.
This will include squadrons who will be on duty at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, who will spend Christmas Day ready and waiting to scramble and protect the country if required.
In total, 11 Royal Navy vessels will be deployed overseas, including the HMS Montrose which will be joining five other ships in the Gulf region to provide protection to international shipping lanes in the Straits of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the offshore patrol vessel HMS Forth will be in the Falkland Islands, following a series of patrols in the south Atlantic.
Across Europe, 100 soldiers will be in Ukraine over the Christmas season, providing training to Ukranian forces.
And personnel who would usually be based in Penicuick, Midlothian, are currently deployed as part of Nato mentoring missions in Afghanistan.
A spokesman for the Second Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland said: “On behalf of everyone in the Second Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland over here in Kabul, Afghanistan, we’d like to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
“UK armed forces personnel based in Scotland will be busy at home as well as a broad, including the UK’s Quick Reaction Alert Squadrons who will be on duty at RAF Lossiemouth, many of them ready in their green flight suits waiting for the call to scramble and protect UK airspace.”