These are the hulking spy planes that are destined to become a fixture in the skies over the north of Scotland.
The UK government has sealed the purchase of nine Poseidon P8 maritime patrol aircraft to be based at RAF Lossiemouth – each of which will cost £150million.
The plane’s American manufacturer, Boeing, will also create a £100million training and support centre at the Moray base, for its defence pilots across Europe.
The planes will be built at Boeing’s factory in Washington, and the firm has now released video footage detailing the journey of a typical US Navy craft from the assembly line to the sky.
Crews of engineers are seen carefully winching parts into place on the mammoth fuselage, and a computer generated sequence reveals the advanced equipment inside the Poseidon and shows how it could deploy missiles to strike enemy submarines.
