BY : thisisnorthscotland

An investigation has been launched after a missile fell from an aircraft and landed on the tarmac at RAF Lossiemouth.

The Brimstone weapon was being loaded on to the Tornado GR4 when the incident happened at the Moray airbase on Tuesday.

The area surrounding the aircraft was immediately cordoned off before clearance was given to move the weapon.

A spokeswoman for RAF Lossiemouth said a thorough investigation was now underway to find out why it fell and to ensure there is no repeat. She said the weapon system which holds the missile in place became detached from the Tornado as it was being loaded, falling on to the concrete floor.

"There were no injuries sustained. As a safety precaution we secured the area around it so that nobody tampered with it or got in the way," she said.

"As with anything like this, we've opened up a unit inquiry and they are looking into the incident to see why the weapon did that."

The Brimstone is an advance radar-guided weapon, which is powered by a rocket motor and can seek and destroy targets at long range.

The missile works by locking on to a target after launch and is designed for the attack and destruction of armoured targets.

The spokeswoman said the risk of it exploding on impact with the ground had been minimal.