A former head of the British Army has said an independent Scotland will struggle to build a "meaningful defence capability".
Lord Dannatt, who was Chief of the General Staff between 2006 and 2009, told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan: "We are much better together.
"I really worry that Scotland will struggle to have any meaningful defence capability. Armies, Navies and Air Forces ... you can't grow them overnight.
"We've got superb armed forces in this country, but they work because they are made of English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.
"And there are things like jobs, industry, shipbuilding - all these kind of things have got to be thought about.
"Scotland will be putting itself in a poor place in external defence and security terms if it chooses to fragment from the rest of us."
Voters go to the polls on September 18 Earlier Lord Dannatt said he feared a Yes vote in the Scottish referendum could also be "letting down" Scottish soldiers who died during fighting in Northern Ireland.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he urged Scots to vote No, pointing out more than 100 Scottish members of the armed forces had fought and died defending the UK during the Troubles.
He wrote: "Do the families of Scottish soldiers who lost their lives between 1969 and 2007 to preserve the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom now just say, 'Well, it no longer matters'?
"I cannot speak for them, but I wonder just how much thought, appreciation and recognition is given to the memory of those who have fought and brought this United Kingdom of ours to where it is today, and where it could be in the future.
"I worry particularly about the extent that we will be letting them down if Scotland disappears from our country, just on the whim of a few thousand voters willing to gamble on an uncertain future rather than staying within the United Kingdom, whose track record is second to none in Europe."
Lord Dannatt said he fears "letting down" Scots who died fighting Lord Dannat's remarks were dismissed by both the Yes and No campaigns.
Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander told Murnaghan: "I am unyielding in my admiration and respect for the men and women of the British armed forces and the contribution that Scots have played and continue to play in those forces.
"But many British soldiers have given their lives over the years to defeat fascism and then to defend democracy and let's be absolutely clear: what we are witnessing here in Scotland on Thursday is an exercise in democracy."
Scottish Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the comments "bordered on being offensive and insulting".
"There are mixed opinions across the armed forces as there are across Scottish society," she said.
With four days to go before the referendum, the latest opinion polls show the Yes and No campaigns are still neck and neck.
A Panelebase poll in the Sunday Times has the No vote at 51% and the Yes vote at 49%, while the Observer has 53% saying No and 47% Yes, excluding those who are undecided.
In contrast, an ICM poll for the Sunday Telegraph suggests 54% plan to vote Yes, with 46% saying they will vote No.
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