Air personnel from all over the world are en route to Moray for a massive war games exercise.
A contingent of Poseidon P-8 marine patrol aircraft will be among the first to arrive for the two-week operation at RAF Lossiemouth.
The huge Boeing spy planes, which have been part of previous deployments, will become a regular feature on the north-east coast when they take up permanent home at the base by 2020.
Crews are scheduled to touch down in Moray tomorrow to take part in the exercise, which takes place twice a year.
A detachment of Portuguese F-16 fighter jets will also be of interest to plane spotters as well as Atlantique surveillance aircraft.
Exercise operations officer at RAF Lossiemouth, flight lieutenant Guy Radcliffe, said the operation allowed staff to familiarise themselves with how other forces worked.
He added: “The hosting of these exercises will involve every section at RAF Lossiemouth. In order to facilitate each visiting units’ individual requirements for the exercise, planning has been ongoing since last spring to ensure that we are ready.
“It will be an extremely busy fortnight for the station and the airfield itself.”
Lossiemouth crews will be joining colleagues from Canada, France, the USA and Portugal to hone their skills. And special arrangements have been implemented to ensure aircraft from other countries can be accommodated.
Flt Lt Radcliffe said: “Particular challenges will involve working with different coalition countries, operating large aircraft which is set up for much smaller, fast jets and fitting it all around RAF Lossiemouth’s own ongoing, high-operational tempo and essential training.”
During the exercise, which is due to continue until Friday, October 21, aircraft from the base will fly outside the facility’s normal 8am to 11pm programme.
Night-time and weekend flying may take place during the operation, but base staff will ensure they are kept to a minimum to reduce noise.
