David Sivills-McCann is an award-winning journalist with 20 years of experience in TV, radio, print and online. He covers military stories in Scotland and Northern Ireland for BFBS, and has also worked around the world including covering deployments in the Middle East, Arctic and Baltic regions.
The aircraft are at the sharp end of defending the airspace protected by the alliance.
The British Army's fearsome new Apache AH-64E had its first outing into the field in November last year.
Personnel from all three services will play a role in the Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication in Edinburgh next week.
The competition involves pulling historic replicas of antique guns weighing 1,300kg by teams of up to 18 people.
The Apache AH-64E replaces the Apache Mk1, which entered service in 2001, proving to be a big asset in Afghanistan and Libya.
The one o'clock District Gunner is the central figure in a tradition dating back to the 1800s.
The two service's rugby union teams met in Edinburgh.
This year also coincides with the 79th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
"I'm not a Scotsman, but Scotland, Edinburgh, will forever be in my heart, always," Warrant Officer 1st Class Anthony Gibson said.
The Royal Regiment of Scotland is training hard in the days running up to the coronation of King Charles on 6 May.
The units have previously been together on exercise in Bulgaria on Trojan Footprint.
Soldiers from the Union Division attended a precourse in Otterburn to get them ready for the harsh realities of training in Brecon, Wales.
The Type 23 frigate was the 11th of 13 Duke-Class frigates when she was launched in 1992.
Figures from the charity Combat Stress show around one in 10 female veterans live with PTSD symptoms compared to around 7% of men.
The charity is working with those LGBT+ veterans who suffered during their service – and those who continue to do so years after.
HMS Active is named after the Type 21 frigate deployed during the Falklands War.