JOINT Warrior, one of Nato’s largest military exercises, has begun in Scotland.

Joint Warrior will see live firing training at Cape Wrath’s Ministry of Defence and involve warships operating out of Faslane as well as aircraft from Moray’s RAF Lossiemouth.

Thousands of navy, air force and army personnel have arrived for the operation which runs until April 6. A similar exercise will be held in the autumn.

Countries taking part include Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, France, the UK, Netherlands, the US, Norway, Sweden and Spain.

Around 430 personnel are co-ordinating the exercise from HM Naval Base Clyde’s Maritime Operations Centre and it will involve over 50 aircraft and 35 naval units.

In the land based exercises, 16 Air Assault Brigade Headquarters and associated battle group, 2 Para, are being assisted by troops from Sweden, the Netherlands and the US.

This year’s spring deployment of Joint Warrior will also introduce the Royal Navy’s first attempt at large scale cyber war games.

Information Warrior 17 will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and test the protection of submarines and warships against cyber attacks.

The Royal Navy said this would “set the foundations” for cyber warfare in the future, “because, as our enemies become more technologically advanced, so must we to combat these threats”.

Information Warrior 17 will involve the use of AI to develop a “ship’s mind” at the centre of warships. The Navy says this will allow fast, complex decisions to be made automatically.