More than 500 firefighters have been tackling the blaze over the past 11 days.
Scottish Justice Secretary Neil Gray has said the Scottish Government is “not expecting to be able to get additional support from the UK military” to help fight the large wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Sunday Show, Mr Gray said it is his understanding that the UK military “does not have the capability” that is required for the fire.
More than 500 firefighters have been tackling the blaze, which has raged through Cairngorms National Park for the past 11 days and forced homes to be evacuated in the remote region.
The First Minister asked the UK Government for military aid after residents in the Highland village of Nethy Bridge, about 30 miles south-east of Inverness, were given evacuation orders on Friday night due to the nearby wildfire.
On Saturday night, Police Scotland said the fire is no longer being considered a major incident after work to contain it reduced the risk to nearby communities.
However, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), along with other partners, is still on the ground fighting the large wildfire.
Speaking about the Scottish Government’s request for military aid, Mr Gray said he had not seen a response yet.
“It’s not something that we are expecting to be able to get – additional support from the UK military,” he said.
“Our understanding that I received from SFRS, and indeed from others during the week, is that the UK military does not have the capability that we are requiring in this case, which is that tactical aerial helicopter support.
“That’s why the Scottish Government, via Nature Scot, has the lease that we do with commercial aircraft here in Scotland in order to ensure that, for example, yesterday we had two helicopters on scene.”
The justice secretary insisted the Scottish Government has enough ground support and resources for fighting the fire and for building firebreaks.
“The military request was limited to aerial support,” he said.
“That is what we were asking for, because the national resource that we are able to deploy from SFRS has been significant and will continue to be so.”
Mr Gray, who holds responsibility for national resilience and civil contingencies within his ministerial portfolio, said the Scottish Government made the support request to explore “every possible avenue” to bolster resources.
“We wanted to establish formally with the UK Government and the UK military as to whether there was any further support available,” he said.
When asked about the criticism locally that more resources should have been deployed at an earlier stage, Mr Gray said: “I very much understand the anger and frustration, the upset and worry that there has been, and for those living and working with business in the immediate vicinity, this has been a significant incident.
“It has been incredibly challenging. People have been asked to evacuate their homes. We cannot underestimate the impact that that has had.
“So, of course, I understand the sentiment that there is there locally, I have been in touch with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service throughout this incident. I’ve been very clear in wanting to ensure that every possible resource was being deployed.”
On Sunday it was announced that the Abernethy Highland Games would not go ahead next month because the local community centre in Nethy Bridge is still being used by the emergency services and many of the event’s volunteers have been involved in efforts to stop the fire.
Although Police Scotland said the wildfire is no longer being considered a major incident, organisers of the games said with “no end point in sight”, the decision had been made to cancel the August 8 event.
“It is with great sadness and deep regret that given the ongoing wildfire and its response, the Abernethy Highland Games 2026 have today been cancelled,” organisers said in a social media post.
“The community centre is still in full use by the emergency services, with no end point in sight.
“Many of our volunteers for the games have been actively involved in fighting the fire over many hours and days.”
