The government is expected to confirm later a sizeable cut in the regular Army, as part of a radical overhaul of the armed forces.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the number of reservists would be increased to around 30,000, following a model used in the US and Australia. The Army would be reduced from its present strength of 101,000 regulars to some 82,000 by 2020.
Several threatened Scottish military bases will also find out their future.
Dr Fox told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We want to have a look at the shape of the armed forces from 2020 and beyond."
He said that lack of investment over the years had meant the fighting strength of the reserve had fallen to around 14,000 and this had led to an "imbalance".
Dr Fox admitted some senior officers were "wary" about the changes and he added: "They may be saying to themselves 'this is all very well promising this but will the investment actually happen, will the reservists get the uplift and training that is promised' and that is up to us to deliver."
RAF Leuchars, in Fife, could close but be transformed into an army barracks instead, while RAF Lossiemouth, in Moray, could well be spared, and RAF Marham in Norfolk is also expected to remain open, the BBC's defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said.
It had already been announced that RAF Kinloss, in Moray, was to close.
The proposed changes would mean that by 2015, the regular Army will be at its smallest size for a century.
Dr Fox is expected to endorse a review of reserve forces that says the UK should follow the US and Australia in making more use of volunteers, like the Territorial Army, to man the frontlines.
The idea is to ensure reservists are "properly trained and equipped" so that more soldiers, sailors and air personnel are ready for frontline duties.
Dr Fox said: "As we move out of Afghanistan and move to a more adaptive posture in our armed forces... we can almost certainly get a rebalancing. Countries like Australia, Canada and the United States have a very different level of balance between regulars and reserves. "However they are able to do that because they spend money and they have much greater capabilities, better equipment and training and that is what I want for the United Kingdom."
The BBC's defence correspondent said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) may also have won a guarantee of a slight increase in spending on equipment from 2015.
Our correspondent said the MoD had been trying to balance the books again since last October's defence review.
The extra cash would pay for 14 new Chinook helicopters, as well as more unmanned aerial vehicles.
However, the overhaul will also mean changes for the RAF bases.
The MoD said the move would mean more service personnel being stationed in Scotland, and therefore the so-called ''defence footprint'' would increase.
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