A £4.5million maintenance base for Rolls-Royce engines has been opened at RAF Lossiemouth.
Specialist engineers from the firm will be based in Moray and work with the air force to maintain the propulsion on Typhoon jets.
Crews will repair parts and manufacture spares for the squadrons which form the UK’s front line of defence.
Live video links can connect staff in the building with colleagues at Rolls-Royce’s main base in Bristol to boost the availability of aircraft for missions.
A total of 10 engineers will work in the building at Lossiemouth, which is the final part of the programme – which began in 2014 – to convert facilities from Tornados to Typhoons at the base.
The new “service delivery centre” in Moray has been modelled on similar Rolls-Royce facilities at RAF bases at Marham and Brize Norton in England.
Another squadron of Typhoons is due to arrive in Moray in the next two years to replace the Tornado group that was disbanded earlier this year.
Air Vice Marshal Gerry Mayhew, air officer commanding No. 1 Group, said: “This is a world-class working environment for Rolls Royce to diagnose, repair, protect and rapidly supply EJ200 engines and spares for the Typhoon fleet based at RAF Lossiemouth.
“The design, capacity and support services of the building have been future-proofed which means that the facility can seamlessly accept any increased demand, following the arrival of any additional Typhoon squadrons.”
Paul Craig, Rolls-Royce president of defence services, added: “With a highly skilled team, fully trained in engineering services, supply chain and operational support, we’ll continue to provide maximum engine readiness and availability.”
