The new Royal Navy aircraft carriers are expected to cost £5bn Scottish ministers and opposition parties are meeting to discuss concerns that defence cuts could have a devastating effect on the economy.
The Ministry of Defence’s strategic review has led to fears two aircraft carrier contracts worth £5bn could be cancelled and RAF bases closed.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is holding joint talks with senior Labour, Lib Dem, Tory and Green MSPs.
The UK government is to make an announcement at the end of October.
It has stressed no decisions have yet been made, but has made clear the need to tackle the public spending deficit in a package of cuts likely to impact across many government departments.
The MoD is under pressure to cut its £36.9bn annual budget by up to 20%.
Ms Sturgeon, along with the Scottish Labour, Conservative and Green leaders – Iain Gray, Annabel Goldie and Patrick Harvie – are convening in Edinburgh to discuss a joint submission to the defence review.
Jeremy Purvis is representing the Liberal Democrats at the meeting, and all those taking part have already been sent a draft submission by the SNP government.
It has emerged that more than 100 contracts totalling about £1.25bn have already been awarded towards the construction of the two new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, being built at Rosyth in Fife and on the Clyde and due to launch in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
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Fears over their future were sparked after BAE systems chief executive Sir Ian King told the Commons Defence Select Committee on Wednesday that the company was asked to consider a number of options ranging from “one carrier to no carriers”.
Scottish ministers say cancellation could cost up to 10,000 jobs.
A spokesman for First Minister Alex Salmond, said: “This is a significant step forward in building a united campaign to protect jobs and skills in Scotland, and we look forward to the meeting on Monday morning to discuss a joint submission to UK strategic defence and security review.”
The future of Scottish RAF bases at Lossiemouth and Kinloss, in Moray, could also be in doubt.
Mr Salmond is not attending the joint meeting due to his visit to Bilbao, where he is aiming to strengthen Scotland’s economic links with Spain’s Basque region.
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