The Ministry of Defence has refused to rule out the prospect of RAF Leuchars being replaced by an army base.
Speculation has been rife in recent weeks over the site’s future, with warnings that closure could leave a £60 million hole in Fife’s economy. Up to 2000 jobs could also be lost.
In recent days there has been talk of possible transformation into a base for soldiers returning from British military sites in Germany.
When quizzed by The Courier, Ministry of Defence officials admitted such a development is “one option.”
However, a spokeswoman insisted no decisions had yet been taken. “It is fair to say that it (RAF Leuchars becoming an army base) is one option that will be looked at,” she said. “However, absolutely no decision has been taken. Some people have put two and two together and come up with five.
“We are bringing people back from bases in Germany but there is no suggestion that they will be relocated to Leuchars.”
There are 12 military bases in Germany, supporting a total of 43,000 personnel and dependants. That number will have dropped to 9000 troops by 2014-15 and a total withdrawal is envisaged by 2020.
The root and branch Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) has left a question mark over the future of both RAF Leuchars and Lossiemouth in Moray. It had been hoped an announcement would be made within weeks but that has now been delayed until summer-after the Scottish parliamentary elections.
“The review is ongoing and no decision will be announced until after the election in May,” the MoD spokeswoman confirmed.
Speculation about the role of Scotland’s RAF bases has been further fuelled by armed forces minister Nick Harvey in recent weeks.
“It will take time to work out which of the bases we retain and the uses to which they will be put,” he said. “We know that these are important decisions and that we must get them right.”Military possibilitiesMr Harvey also made it clear that with army units returning from Germany an RAF withdrawal would not necessarily spell the end of any threatened base’s use by the military.
However, the prospect of the army setting up camp at Leuchars was met with incredulity there on Wednesday night.
“Can you really imagine tanks rolling through the streets of Leuchars?” asked community council chairwoman Carroll Finnie. “Shutting down the RAF and putting in the army is not something anybody here could even imagine.
“Our campaign is very much to keep the RAF in Leuchars and that is what we want to see.”
Fife Chamber of Commerce criticised the prospect of an army base. Chief executive Alan Russell accused the Ministry of Defence of leaking potentially damaging rumours.
He also warned that mounting speculation could be “extremely damaging” to the concerted campaign to retain the RAF in Leuchars. “This latest bout of rumours and speculation apparently originating from the MoD must be treated with caution,” Mr Russell said.
“It is damaging… to the various campaigns being fought around the country as no decisions have yet been taken about the future of Scottish bases.”
Mr Russell said he feared “political interference” in the decision making process could be “destructive.”
“This is no way to conduct the review of the strategic and defence needs of the United Kingdom,” he said. “Decisions of this magnitude must be made on what makes Britain the safest.
“As far as I am concerned RAF Leuchars has proved its worth in defending our airspace.”
Mr Russell also believes the army could find more suitable bases elsewhere. “Where would the army train if it were to locate at Leuchars?” he asked.
“They need a vast space for firing ranges and training facilities and there is absolutely nowhere in the vicinity that could accommodate this.”
Mr Russell believes the removal of the RAF from Leuchars would pose a “significant” security risk.
“I remain convinced that RAF Leuchars, as one of only two Typhoon bases across the UK, is best placed to protect the northern UK against all sorts of threats,” he continued.
“To move the Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) service to any other location would pose a significant risk to our future security and, given the huge amount of investment that has gone into Leuchars over the last two years, it makes no financial sense to have to do all that again elsewhere.”
The fight to save RAF Leuchars will, Mr Russell insisted, continue unabated.
“The campaign for the retention of RAF Leuchars as an air base continues and is more focused than ever,” he said. “More work is still to be done but politicians, business and the Fife community are united in this cause.”