New figures have revealed the multimillion pound investment made in north and north-east military bases every year.
This year, £4.6million has gone towards repairs and maintenance across 13 Scottish defence bases – with almost a quarter of that sum being directed towards RAF Lossiemouth and £900,000 being spent on Kinloss Barracks.
The price of maintaining Moray’s two military bases nearly equals that of every other site combined over the past two years.
Moray MP Angus Robertson, the SNP leader at Westminster, said it was welcome that defence chiefs were spending money to ensure the safety of the region’s military personnel.
Former Scottish secretary Alistair Carmichael, the northern isles MP, said the investment was a sign that bases across the north should remain operational for the foreseeable future.
This year and last, the MoD has invested just more than £5million to ensure RAF Lossiemouth and Kinloss Barracks remain up to standard – while maintaining the 11 other venues came in at £5.2million altogether.
With almost £1.3million going towards safeguarding the Lossiemouth airfield this year already, it ranks as the costliest facility.
Moray MP Angus Robertson said: “The ongoing work to maintain a busy fast jet base is of significant importance to Moray – as it provides employment and increased economic activity.
“It is important the MoD continues to invest in Lossiemouth and all of its facilities, to ensure that personnel are working in as safe and effective an environment as possible.”
Roughly £250,000 has been spent this year to protect the 18th century Fort George base, near Inverness, from deterioration.
Though he welcomed moves to conserve the north’s military bases, Mr Carmichael said their fate would lie in the hands of local representatives.
The former Scottish secretary said: “I hope this is an indication of a long term commitment on the part of the current government to keep these bases in a working condition for the forseeable future.
“This is good news of course, but these things can change.
“Government spending is ultimately up to the Treasury, and there is now a greater need than ever for elected representatives to be vigilant in fighting for their areas.”
Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, at Faslane, has received a relatively scant stipend from the Ministry of Defence, with just £14,000 going towards its preservation this year.
The RAF Buchan radar point, near Peterhead, and RAF Benbecula radar station on North Uist, also require comparatively meagre sums.
This year the Buchan base has required about £77,000 for maintenance and RAF Benbecula has sought roughly £61,000.
RAF Tain required between £10,000 and £20,000 in maintenance costs for each of the past three years but the weapons range has not had any money spent on its preservation this year.
The figures emerged after Stirling SNP MP Steven Paterson asked the secretary of state for defence, Michael Fallon, the cost of maintaining Scotland’s MoD facilities.
A spokeswoman for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation at the Ministry of Defence said: “These figures represent any maintenance required to comply with statutory and mandatory responsibilities to ensure a safe and legally compliant estate.
“This includes fire regulations, health and safety laws and grounds maintenance.
“The delivery of this maintenance is both planned and reactive.”