SCOTTISH independence could end the UK's fragile commitment to a global military role, a leading defence expert predicts.
Professor Malcolm Chalmers, from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think-tank, said the vote could be the final nail in the coffin of interventionist foreign policy.
The public was increasingly disenchanted with the UK's role in countries like Afghanistan, he warned.
Coupled with the loss of Scotland if there was a Yes vote, Mr Chalmers questioned whether the remaining parts of the UK might "lose the will to remain a great power".
Earlier this year a former top general, Lord Richard Dannatt, warned an independent Scotland Defence Force would be "too boring" to attract top recruits.
However, Mr Chalmers suggested that Scottish independence might fundamentally change the nature of the UK Armed Forces as well. Writing in the Rusi journal, he warned support for the Armed Forces was not "associated with support for what they are being asked to do" in countries like Afghanistan.
"Scottish independence, in these circumstances, might be the straw that finally breaks the back of the UK's fragile commitment to a global military role," he added.
Scottish independence could even have a negative impact on the UK's standing in the rest of the world, he warned.
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