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Admiral Sir George Zambellas says independence would make the Royal Navy "much, much less efficient"
Scottish independence would leave the Royal Navy less efficient and weaken defence, the first sea lord has said.
Admiral Sir George Zambellas told the BBC that it would be like "pulling threads out of rope".
But Col Stuart Crawford, who has advised the SNP on defence matters, said an independent Scotland would be "more than capable" of running its own armed forces.
He told the BBC Scottish forces would have a regional, not global, focus.
The SNP has said that, in the event of a "yes" vote, all existing military bases in Scotland would be retained but that the nuclear submarines would be removed from their base on the Clyde.
However, the defence secretary is to say removing them will not be easy.
'Deeply respected'At the moment, there are 16 ships and submarines, and two Royal Marine commando units based in Scotland.
Sir George said: "I believe very strongly that, for a premier league navy, respected around the world, with a big responsibility, for us to be divided would be less efficient for both the UK and Scotland.
"Start Quote
End Quote Admiral Sir George Zambellas First Sea LordThe way we do business means that if you try to pull some threads out of the rope it's much less efficient"
"The nature of our military construct, infrastructure, basing, people, equipment and the families who support a hard-pressed navy, all of those add up to a construct which doesn't bear dividing its efficiency, and my job is to provide the navy as efficiently as I can.
"The way we do business means that if you try to pull some threads out of the rope it's much less efficient, and that applies particularly to the navy because it's so hard-pressed.
"The UK is deeply respected for its maritime contribution to Nato, with its maritime deterrent through its ships and submarines and marines, and that whole piece is part of Nato's contribution to security.
"Taking that apart would give us a much weaker result. The two components would not add up to the sum of the whole."
Sir George said the Royal Navy was important to protecting sea-going trade for the economy.
"Start Quote
End Quote Col Stuart Crawford Defence commentatorAn independent Scotland would be more than capable of running its own armed forces should the country become independent"
Speaking about the prospect of nuclear-armed submarines being removed from the Clyde, he said: "The UK's nuclear deterrent is deeply respected. It's strong and purposeful and populated by men and women committed to the cause."
If Scotland voted for independence "it would take a long time to sort out and it would be expensive", he said.
However, a defence commentator who has served as an adviser to the SNP said an independent Scotland would have a viable defence policy.
Speaking on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, Col Stuart Crawford, a former British Army officer, said an independent Scotland would no longer have a global defence focus.
He said: "Scotland would be more than capable of running its own armed forces should the country become independent.
"We shouldn't imagine that those armed forces would be a microcosm of the UK's armed forces - not just 10% of the UK inventory if you like.
"It would be something much more modest with a different focus."
'Defence co-operation'Meanwhile Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will promote the case for Scotland within the union telling defence workers in Glasgow that UK defence provides security and peace of mind.
He will also talk about the complexity of what he calls "protracted" negotiations on the future of nuclear-armed submarines, should Scotland vote for independence.
BBC Scotland business and economy editor Douglas Fraser says there is complexity, if not confusion, about the UK government's position on this.
It follows press reports that keeping Trident on the Clyde could be the compromise that secures a deal the SNP wants - on Scotland sharing control of the Bank of England.
The official positions remain that the UK government will not share the currency and ministers in Scotland remain determined to remove nuclear weapons from the Clyde.
Commenting ahead of the defence secretary's speech, the SNP's leader in Westminster and defence spokesman Angus Robertson said: "The irony is that Philip Hammond is delivering quite a British nationalist defence speech in the workplace of a French multinational company in Glasgow that is partly owned by the French government - underlining the defence co-operation that exists between friends and allies.
"Mr Hammond is also coming to spread the usual myths and misinformation from the 'No' campaign.
"For example, he says that you can't have a currency union without a fiscal and political union, which will come as news to France, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria who all share a currency and are all independent countries."
Mr Robertson described it as "yet another flying visit and lecture to Scotland".
The Scottish independence referendum is scheduled for September 18.
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