Centuries of military history and capacity would be lost if Scotland was to become independent, according to Prime Minister David Cameron.
Mr Cameron dismissed claims from First Minister Alex Salmond that “the UK Government’s bond of trust with the people of Scotland” had been broken with the recent military basing review.
In a letter to the PM, Mr Salmond demanded an apology for what he branded broken promises relating to the reforms of the armed services.
The correspondence also called on the UK Government to commit to “work constructively” with ministers in Scotland and claimed that communities including Leuchars would be left “deeply aggrieved” by the announcement.
In his reply, Mr Cameron said military personnel numbers in Scotland will rise to their highest level since 2007 as a result of the Westminster policy, with a “significant concentration of troops” in the former RAF base at Leuchars.
He added: “Scotland benefits greatly from… every pound invested in the collective security the UK provides not just what is invested in Scotland directly.
“Also, while the location of the UK’s armed forces is decided purely on military requirements, our planned number of armed forces in Scotland will still be proportionate to Scotland’s population.
“I think it is important for the referendum debate for people to understand that the outcome you seek for Scotland is the end of centuries of our shared British military effort, and the footprint of this military capability in Scotland.”
By 2020, there will be an increase of 800 regular army personnel in Scotland to just under 4,000. The total number of armed forces personnel will be more than 12,500 an increase of 600.
RAF Leuchars is to become an army base with about 850 troops stationed there and RM Condor will remain home to 45 Commando.
However, the army base at Forthside in Stirling is to be sold off and plans to move army troops into MoD Caledonia at Rosyth were scrapped.
A No 10 spokesman said no credible projections had been put forward by the Scottish Government that would maintain a military presence in an independent Scotland on the same scale as the UK Government’s plans.
He added: “People in Scotland deserve to know what military capabilities they would plan for an independent Scotland, and how these could be afforded on the proposed budget of around 7% of what the UK spends on defence and security.”
A spokesman for the First Minister said the UK Government broke two-year-old promises to Scots after former Defence Secretary Liam Fox pledged to send a higher number of troops to Scotland than featured in the new basing plan.
He said: “The reality is that Scotland was promised 6,000 additional forces personnel and we have ended up with just 600 more.
“That is a pale shadow of what was committed to by the UK Government just two years ago.
“This continues the disproportionate cuts to the defence footprint in Scotland by successive UK Governments which has now seen a fall of over a third in numbers of personnel between 2000 and 2012, compared to under a fifth UK-wide.”