"But beneath this thin veneer of business as usual, the UK ship of state will have been fatally torpedoed below the water line. Already, years of hollowing out of its military capability has raised questions about whether its armed forces can – along with just the US and France in Nato – perform full-spectrum operations in the field. If Scotland (along with its share of GDP) left, there is little doubt that this seminal ability will be beyond what remains of the UK. This practical diminution matters, even more than the symbolic calling into question of the UK's nuclear deterrent."