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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Jan 6, 2022 · 29 min
The Sitrep Crystal Ball
What’s going to happen in 2022, where and why?Will Ukraine be invaded or can big talks next week dial down the tension?Why has Russia sent troops to Kazakhstan and will it become the first new international crisis of the year?Does China really want to use its growing military, or is it just for show?Professor Michael Clarke, and Dr Melanie Garson will help navigate us through the potential trouble spots of the next 12 months.
Dec 16, 2021 · 29 min
Good year/Bad year?
2021 – the year that Joe Biden replaced Donald Trump, took international troops out of Afghanistan, and the Taliban swept back to power. The final Sitrep of the year examines the key events of the last twelve months, and what they mean for the UK and the world.Britain’s first carrier strike group deployment in a decade, HMS Defender’s run-in with Russia in the Black Sea, and the defence review that shrinks the Army again but promises new high-tech planes and vehicles in years to
Dec 9, 2021 · 34 min
Left behind – what’s happened to the people Britain didn’t rescue from Afghanistan?
Four months since the Taliban marched back to power in Afghanistan Sitrep hears from three interpreters who had worked with UK forces, but who couldn’t get on evacuation flights.After a whistleblower alleged chaos in the Foreign Office has cost lives, a Conservative MP has branded it a ‘failure of statecraft’, but has it done lasting damage for future military operations?Domestic abuse accounts for around one in eight cases handled by the Army Welfare Service – they tell us how
Dec 2, 2021 · 29 min
Can a smaller army be more lethal?
It is ‘the biggest modernisation of the Army for a generation’ according to ministers – but can it deliver? This week on Sitrep we look through the details of the ‘Future Soldier’ plan for the Army to spend more time deployed around the globe. We assess whether billions of pounds of new technology can make up for smaller numbers of people and tanks.Defence is to make an ‘immeasurable shift’ in the way it handles complaints about sexual behaviour after thousands of women gave evidence
Nov 25, 2021 · 18 min
‘Do not screw this up’ – A fighter pilot’s story
Former RAF Typhoon pilot Mike Sutton talks at length to Kate Gerbeau about his time on combat sorties over Iraq on Operation Shader, what it was like to be high in the sky witnessing friends under attack on the ground, how bombing missions worked, and his close brushes with lethal danger. Mike also tells Kate how he became a fighter pilot, despite initially being rejected by the RAF, and how he still gets to fly fast jets as a civilian.
Nov 25, 2021 · 29 min
What’s it like to be a fighter pilot in combat?
Former RAF Typhoon pilot Mike Sutton tells us about his time flying sorties over Iraq on Operation Shader in 2015. From the cramped conditions of the cockpit, to close shaves with enemy fire and friendly aircraft.Also on Sitrep we hear from one of the British Airways passengers held as human shields by Iraq in 1990, before the first Gulf War, and investigate who a mystery group of men on that flight really were.Bosnia is in crisis once more, with fears the state could colla
Nov 18, 2021 · 29 min
The race to recover Britain’s crashed F35
After an F35, flying from HMS Queen Elizabeth, crashed into the Mediterranean the pilot ejected and was safely recovered to the Aircraft carrier.In this week’s Sitrep we look at the two most urgent tasks now, to find out why the crash happened, and to recover the plane which is packed with top-secret technology that the UK does not want enemies to get a glimpse of.Blowing up a satellite, massing troops near Ukraine, and getting involved in a migrant crisis. We ask what is R
Nov 11, 2021 · 29 min
The Army’s Culture Problem
The Army’s top officers are summoned to discuss ‘disciplinary mistakes’, especially harassment and abuse of women. The outgoing Chief of Defence Staff acknowledges ‘laddish culture’ is encouraged because soldiers have to go ‘close and personal’ with the enemy.In this week’s Sitrep we ask if that culture is necessary for a fighting force, and whether an independent audit of Army culture will be enough to deliver a promised cultural shift?We also examine how Belarus may be ‘w
Nov 4, 2021 · 29 min
A ‘war-footing’ for the Climate Crisis
World leaders talk big at COP26 on trying to avert a spiralling environmental catastrophe – but some key players are missing.The Defence Secretary says militaries would have to deal with the consequences of a failed climate change policy.In this week’s Sitrep – we examine the hopes of success or failure, and ask a former UK ambassador to the UN whether a ‘wartime mentality’ could help.We’ll also dig into the murky data on just how much carbon emissions come from militarie
Oct 28, 2021 · 29 min
Cutting the cash for landmine clearance
The Mine Advisory Group says plans to cut back on government funding for landmine clearance is catastrophic...we’ll hear from the CEO of ‘MAG’ and a former British soldier working on the ground for them in Iraq. ...there’s fresh anger over Afghanistan...the RAF has airlifted 102 people who fled Afghanistan to a neighbouring country to the UK, but, is that an impressive number or surprisingly low?. We talk that through with Professor Michael Clarke. It’s fifty years since Britain first put a r
Oct 21, 2021 · 29 min
The new race for space
China denies testing a new hypersonic missile — a potential new threat in space. Meanwhile North Korea tests a new, submarine-launched, missile, sparking more concerns over its ambitions. In this week’s Sitrep, how should the west respond to both events? Foreign affairs analyst Tim Marshall explains how geography can help predict future conflict zones. Plus we hear from the author of a new report on domestic violence inside military relationships, and a woman who left her husband after he tu
Oct 14, 2021 · 30 min
Afghanistan’s humanitarian catastrophe
Hundreds of Afghan interpreters, who worked with British forces in the country, remain stranded after the end of the international evacuation mission. In this week’s Sitrep, we hear from two of them, and an expert on the country, who got out as the Taliban advanced on Kabul, tells us why it’s so vital to restore humanitarian aid. The militia leader once dubbed Iraq’s most dangerous man is now a key powerbroker in the country — we get an update on elections to the Iraqi parliament, and what cou
Oct 7, 2021 · 29 min
Britain’s new military leader
As Admiral Sir Tony Radakin is announced as the next Chief of the Defence Staff, what challenges await the new leader of Britain’s armed forces? One issue in his in-tray could be the growing crisis in Taiwan, whose leaders warn relations with China are worse now than they’ve been for forty years. This week, we get the picture from Taipei, and find out what’s behind China’s latest moves. The man in charge of the Centre for Army Leadership tells us about his book, detailing the lessons that cou
Sep 30, 2021 · 29 min
The 4th Emergency Service?
The Government turns to the forces to help resolve the fuel crisis that’s seen huge queues at petrol stations across the UK. It’s not the first time the military’s been asked to step in during an emergency at home — are we becoming too reliant on the forces to bolster civilian authorities? And do we need a US-style National Guard on stand-by? America’s military chiefs publicly contradict President Biden, insisting they did warn him not to pull all US troops out of Afghanistan — we hear what th
Sep 23, 2021 · 30 min
Will AUKUS make it awkward for Britain and France?
France has called the defence pact between Britain, the US and Australia a “stab in the back”, but will it do lasting damage to relations between the key allies? Sitrep speaks to a former National Security Adviser, who went on to be Britain’s ambassador in France. There’s also a report that warns nations like Russia and Turkey are stepping into conflict zones as western powers lose any appetite to intervene. And as gas prices surge across Europe, one expert explains why we should see it as a
Sep 16, 2021 · 30 min
Britain, US & Australia sign new defence pact
What does the new AUKUS defence pact between Britain, the US and Australia mean? Leaders from the military, politics and the defence industry have been meeting in London over the past few days, and this week’s Sitrep reports from inside DSEI on promises of an integrated future for the forces. We’ll learn more about some of the cutting edge tech on display, and we hear from the Second Sea Lord on plans for the UK to project its power around the world. The minister responsible for defence proc
Sep 9, 2021 · 29 min
9/11 - 20 years on
Days after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan comes the anniversary of the terrorist attack that sparked the invasion in 2001. How has the world changed since the 9/11 attacks? Is the west stronger or weaker? And are we any safer now than we were then? We hear from some of the British military personnel involved in the evacuation effort at Kabul airport, and find out what might happen to Britain’s nuclear deterrent if Scotland votes for independence in a second referendum. Plus the continuing
Sep 2, 2021 · 29 min
Watching Afghanistan from over the horizon
Days after Britain’s last military personnel leave Afghanistan, the US completes its withdrawal and President Biden says America is not in the business of nation building anymore. But he also vows to strike back at ISIS-K from thousands of miles away — we explore how that will work, and how much the west will need the Taliban’s help. How deep is the division opened up between London and Washington by the withdrawal — and how long will it last? We hear from veterans on how they’ve handled the
Aug 26, 2021 · 29 min
Afghanistan: The final days
As the western evacuation from Afghanistan enters its final phase, what are the key mistakes that led to the country’s fall to the Taliban? This week, we hear from an analyst who only left Kabul as the city was being taken over — she claims the US effectively sold out the Afghan government, and encouraged the Taliban to wait out the clock. We discuss what impact the withdrawal will have on other countries’ faith in western military powers, and whether it will prompt a fracture between the US a
Aug 19, 2021 · 41 min
Afghanistan’s collapse
A special Sitrep examines the implications of the fall of Kabul, and the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. We hear from a former Royal Marine still in Kabul, and a journalist who escaped on the day the Taliban entered the city. A former head of the Army tells us what it felt like to see Afghanistan fall, and we ask what America’s decision to withdraw could mean for its NATO allies. And we reflect on whether political leaders are right when they insist the near 20-year mission in Afgha