BFBS Sitrep

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Award winning Defence podcast from BFBS.

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946 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes946

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Jul 20, 2023 · 24 min
EXTRA – Zig-zag careers, can they help make UK forces stronger?
As the Armed Forces struggle to recruit and retain the people and skills they need, a major review is recommending a radical rethink of British military life and careers.The Haythornethwaite review found the forces need to do better at making their people feel valued.It was commissioned by the Defence Secretary to study ‘incentivisation’ for servicemen and women.Sitrep talks to the review’s military adviser, retired Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope, to ask whether flexibl
Jul 13, 2023 · 29 min
Preparing for the Ukraine endgame
The old military saying goes ‘winning the war is easier than winning the peace’.Sitrep explains what the NATO summit has and hasn’t done to prepare for the end of the war, with the help of Major General Tim Cross, who led the UK’s post-war efforts in Iraq.The summit delivered security guarantees for Ukraine from some allies, including the UK, but no timetable for NATO membership. We assess whether it was a good or bad result for Ukraine.And what about NATO’s own defe
Jul 6, 2023 · 29 min
How to get a tank through a minefield
Ukraine’s counter offensive is being held up, in part, by densely packed Russian minefields. Former tank commander Justin Crump explains how they avoid the explosives, and clear a path through.Professor Michael Clarke tells us what progress Ukraine has made in the last month, and why a much bigger push looks imminent. Sitrep’s James Wharton has had exclusive access to British troops on the ground in Iraq as part of Operation Shader, he explains how their role has changed over th
Jun 29, 2023 · 29 min
How can NATO best protect its Eastern flank?
Some Eastern European countries have called on NATO to strengthen its eastern borders following recent events in Russia. This week Germany said it plans to keep 4000 troops permanently in Lithuania, once the infrastructure is in place.Germany already leads a multi-national battlegroup in Lithuania, as the UK does in Estonia, as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence. <
Jun 22, 2023 · 29 min
Rethinking forces life for Generation Z
The armed forces need to do better at making their people feel valued to deliver military capability.So says a major review of ‘incentivisation’ for servicemen and women – we explain its recommendations including flexible careers, simpler allowances, and skills based pay.The UK is the only NATO country to recruit 16 year olds into the forces, and a UN panel has renewed its call for the age to go up to 18. We ask a member of that panel why.And the former captain of a
Jun 22, 2023 · 24 min
EXTRA – An end to ‘one size fits all’ military careers?
As the Armed Forces struggle to recruit and retain the people and skills they need, a major review is recommending a radical rethink of British military life and careers.The Haythornethwaite review found the forces need to do better at making their people feel valued.It was commissioned by the Defence Secretary to study ‘incentivisation’ for servicemen and women.Sitrep talks to the review’s military adviser, retired Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope, to ask whether flexibl
Jun 15, 2023 · 29 min
Ukraine’s counter-offensive explained
The push to retake Ukrainian territory held by Russia has started modestly, but there is a bigger strategy behind it.Michael Clarke explains how this is actually about stretching Russian forces, and Colin Freeman updates us from close to the front line.Eleven British universities have been criticised for working with Iranian partners on technologies that could have military uses. Former tank-commander turned scientist Hamish de Bretton-Gordon tells us why he’s worried.And
Jun 8, 2023 · 29 min
How to see through the fog of war
Ukraine’s counter-offensive appears to be underway, bringing us a stream of contradictory claims and confusing headlines.Professor Michael Clarke, and former intelligence officer Col. Philip Ingram, explain how we can make sense of it all in the midst of a disinformation war.A top US Air Force officer has warned AI enabled drones could turn against their operators, and infrastructure, in pursuit of missions. We ask if artificial intelligence really could go rogue and threat
Jun 1, 2023 · 29 min
Putin’s poodle?
9 years ago Ukraine’s northern neighbour, Belarus, vocally opposed Russia’s annexation of Crimea and was staunchly a non-nuclear state. Now it’s host to Russian troops, and is just taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons. We explain the U-turn, and ask if it’s the start of a new ‘Soviet Union lite’? NATO’s looking for a new leader, and the UK’s Defence Secretary is seen as one of several potential frontrunners. A former NATO insider explains how the whole process is
May 25, 2023 · 29 min
Has Russia finally upped its game in the war with Ukraine?
With reports of an improvement in Russian battlefield tactics, that certainly could be the case. But, other intel suggests that the difficulties with enforcing discipline amongst junior ranks is actually worsening. On this week’s Sitrep, Professor Michael Clarke will look at a new report which suggests Moscow has indeed, learned from its mistakes and is preparing a major Ukrainian offensive.Also, as Russia changes tactics we’ll hear how high tech satellite imagery has become a v
May 25, 2023 · 25 min
EXTRA - Eject! Eject!
John Nichol’s life was saved by explosives attached to his seat. In 1991 he ejected from a burning RAF Tornado jet, along with pilot John Peters, saving their lives but also leading to their capture by Iraqi forces. In a new book, ‘Eject! Eject!’, John Nichol charts the history of the ejection seat and shares the stories of how it has both saved and changed thousands of people’s lives. He tells Kate Gerbeau what it’s like to be thrown out of plane at 600 miles per hour, how a terrifying 30-se
May 18, 2023 · 29 min
The game of cat-and-mouse in Ukraine
It looks the Ukraine war is at a tipping point, with a counter-offensive imminent, which would take the war into a significant new phase.Professor Michael Clarke explains how a cat-and-mouse game is already underway along hundreds of miles of front line, and do fresh western weaponry promises deliver what President Zelensky said he was waiting for?Russia’s returned to bombarding Kyiv every 48 hours, journalist Iryna Sysak tells Sitrep what it’s like to be back living under regul
May 11, 2023 · 30 min
AI – the future of warfare?
Artificial Intelligence seems to be coming of age, but some of its pioneers are warning AI could soon get out of control.On Sitrep we explain how Britain’s armed forces are already using Artificial Intelligence, and Steve Meers from the AI Lab at DSTL tells us what he’s working on to help servicemen and women in the future.Major Sam McEvoy of the Royal Corps of Signals was involved in the Army’s first operational deployment of AI. He tells us the genie is out of the bottle, and
May 4, 2023 · 29 min
Making a military moment in history
The coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla includes the UK Armed Forces’ biggest ceremony for 70 years.On Sitrep we look at the plans, the rehearsals, and hear from a veteran of the Grenadier Guards about the kind of personal preparations required of 7000 servicemen and women.Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Putin in a small-dronestrike on the Kremlin. Ukraine firmly denies any part.Professor Michael Clarke explains why it wou
May 4, 2023 · 10 min
EXTRA - The King’s flying instructor
Sitrep hears from someone who played a key part in the journey of King Charles III to his role as commander in chief of the UK’s armed forces.Most of the King’s five years as a serviceman were spent as a pilot, but before he stepped into uniform to fly jets and helicopters he learned to fly a twin-seat single-propellor Chipmunk plane.His instructor was a young Flight Lieutenant, Philip Pinney, who tells James Wharton his story training future King to fly, preparing Charles for h
Apr 27, 2023 · 29 min
Who calls the shots?
Sitrep gets the inside stories from some of the UK’s biggest military decisions of recent years, as we examine the art and politics of command.Former Chief of the Defence Staff, General Lord Richards, explains how he once told David Cameron ‘a term in the cadet force doesn’t qualify you to do my job’, but still had a good working relationship with the PM.And former Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, reveals how at the start of Operation Shader he had to personally authorise
Apr 20, 2023 · 29 min
Spying and sabotage in the North Sea
Russia has sent a fleet of ships, pretending to be fishing trawlers, to size up our wind farms and power cables for possible attacks according to a new documentary.Professor Michael Clarke explains how the UK is already ramping up its military capabilities to track and deter this kind of Russian activity.An Iraq veteran gives us his verdict on the new book ‘How To Fight a War’ – and its author Dr Mike Martin explains why he thinks lethal violence is just communication your enemy
Apr 20, 2023 · 31 min
EXTRA – How to fight a war
Do tanks trump technology? Do missiles matter more than manpower? And can the better thinker beat the stronger fighter?Dr Mike Martin’s new book ‘How To Fight A War’ argues that psychology is the key, and that war is as at least as much a conversation as it is a physical battle.The head of the Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, has called the book ‘essential reading’. Dr Martin explains his key principles which could decide victory, or defeat, and former soldier James Wha
Apr 13, 2023 · 29 min
The classified document cluster
Sitrep looks behind the headlines of a huge leak of top secret US documents, including on suggesting 50 British special forces troops have been on the ground in Ukraine.Professor Michael Clarke will assess the damage from the leaks, and explain the official ‘health warnings’ on what’s been revealed.Ukraine doesn’t just want western fighter jets, it also wants veteran fighter pilots to join its fight. Decorated US Lt Colonel Dan ‘Two Dogs’ Hampton tells us why he wants to sign up
Apr 6, 2023 · 29 min
How to lead the RAF
Air Marshal Richard Knighton has been named as the new Chief of Air Staff. We talk to one of his predecessors, Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford, about what the job involves, the challenges ahead, and what AM Knighton’s leadership will mean for the men and women of the RAF.The NATO/Russia border has just doubled in length as Finland joins the alliance. Will it be a burden or heavy lifter in NATO, and why is Britain already seen as Finland’s mentor?And Royal Marines have,