BFBS Sitrep

BFBS Radio

Award winning Defence podcast from BFBS.

Subscribe Listen in podnod RSS feed Show website

946 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes946

Newest first

Sep 5, 2024 · 43 min
A reality check on “painful choices” and defence cut rumours.
The Defence Secretary has said “we will do our part” as the government prepares us for a “difficult” budget, fuelling speculation that some big defence projects, like new planes or ships, could be axed.Sitrep’s Professor Michael Clarke explains why the Chancellor won’t be making any such announcements, but that that everything is up for consideration, and how difficult choices will have to be made early next year.Also on Sitrep why the Armed Forces are pushing big into e-sports.
Sep 5, 2024 · 19 min
EXTRA – Soldier, Doctor, Poet.
Major General Tim Hodgetts served 41 years as an Army doctor, rising to become Surgeon General.He’s lived through gunfire and explosions while trying to save lives, from Germany via Northern Ireland, to Afghanistan. Throughout much of that time he also wrote poems as a way to help him process those experiences, but now he’s published some of them in an anthology, “Frontlines and Lifelines”Major General Hodgetts talks to Kate Gerbeau about his poems, the events that i
Aug 29, 2024 · 40 min
Who’s qualified to lead our national security?
Rishi Sunak wanted one of the UK’s top generals to be the next National Security Adviser, but Keir Starmer has decided to readvertise the job.So far it’s always been a civilian, but would a top-ranking officer make more sense? The UK’s first ever National Security Adviser, Lord Peter Ricketts, tells us what the role involves and shares his thoughts along with ex Royal Navy officer Professor Peter Roberts.Jamie Gordon from BFBS podcast Mavgeeks reflects on the legacy, and hair-r
Aug 22, 2024 · 42 min
The UK joins the military space race
The UK’s first sovereign military satellite, Tyche, is now in orbit.  It’s the first piece of a planned constellation of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance orbiters, at a cost approaching one billion pounds.Former Royal Navy officer Darren Jones, from Tyche’s manufacturer, explains what capability it can offer the Armed Forces, while Professor Michael Clarke and Juliana Suess from RUSI discuss the value of spending in space from a hard-pressed defence budget.Thre
Aug 15, 2024 · 40 min
Ukraine’s big gamble in Russia – what happens next?
Is this Chess, or Russian Roulette? Professor Michael Clarke explains why Ukraine has chosen a path with big risks, but also potentially big rewards by taking the fight to Russia on its own turf in Kursk.Sitrep’s Simon Newton analyses the forces and movements of each side as we assess how this could develop and affect the war.75 years since the Geneva Conventions created a rulebook for the conduct of war their effectiveness is facing big questions.  Military ethics lecturer
Aug 8, 2024 · 41 min
Wagner Mercenaries in West Africa
Sitrep’s looking into the role of the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, after reports of fierce fighting in the West African country of Mali and asking why this conflict has caused a diplomatic row between Mali and Ukraine? And where is the balance between the needs of the military and the needs of the media? Sitrep will discuss that with the former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Sir Richard Shirreff, and Mark Urban, former Defence Editor at BBC Newsnight.&nbs
Aug 1, 2024 · 46 min
The armed forces pay rise – what’s it really worth?
Most servicemen and women are getting a 6% pay rise, twice the rate of inflation.  The government says it’s the biggest increase for more than 20 years. But in real terms pay has been falling for a decade, and satisfaction with it is at a record low. Sitrep talks to the Defence Veterans and People Minister, Alistair Carns, to ask whether it’s really enough, and why accommodation costs are also rising despite numerous problems. Ukraine appears to have
Jul 25, 2024 · 34 min
Ready for war in three years?
The new head of the Army has warned the UK has three years to be ready to fight a war or deter conflict. General Sir Roly Walker’s talked about an “increasingly volatile world” but he said war wasn’t inevitable and the Army had "just enough time" to prepare itself. He says he wants to double the Army's fighting power in three years (and triple it by the end of the decade) and he’s stressed the need to modernise quickly using technology like AI. Professor Mike Cla
Jul 18, 2024 · 46 min
Why have outside experts been put in charge of the UK’s Defence Review?
From where the armed forces are deployed around the world, to the kit they have for the job, and how they’re looked after, the government has launched a “root and branch” defence review. Two people who’ve been hands on with past reviews, Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope and Sitrep’s Professor Michael Clarke, explain what will be different about this one and the job that it has to do. Sian Grzeszczyk-Melbourne has been talking to Defence ministers and give
Jul 11, 2024 · 43 min
“Don’t be Jack” -- the veterans who’ve become MPs
Around one in twenty of the UK’s MPs have military experience, but what do they bring to the job and does it help them make a difference?Sitrep talks to the new MP for Derbyshire North, Louise Jones, and Jonny Ball who hosts the Veterans in Politics podcast and has mentored several of the new intake to Parliament.India’s Prime Minister claims to be neutral on the war in Ukraine, but he’s been pictured hugging President Putin on a visit to Moscow.  So what’s Narendra Modi up
Jul 8, 2024 · 16 min
EXTRA - The Allied Reaction Force (and Britain’s role) explained
The Allied Reaction Force is the new “tip of the spear” for NATO’s military power. It’s  described as a strategic, high-readiness, force-generated, multi-domain and multinational capability.The ARF replaces the NATO Response Force and Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), as part of a radical update of military structures and plans since the invasion of Ukraine.The idea is to pack more military punch more quickly, and significantly the Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Jul 4, 2024 · 42 min
Defending Europe – what does NATO need to do?
75 years since NATO was created to defend Europe, Sitrep asks what’s needed to do that job properly today.From organising hundreds of thousands of troops, to digging ditches and ensuring bridges can carry tanks, the challenges are explained by Professor Michael Clarke and Oana Lungescu, a former senior advisor to the NATO Secretary General.Part of the jigsaw is the new Alliance Reaction Force. It’s commander, Lieutenant General Lorenzo D’Addario tells Sitrep how the ARF plans to
Jun 27, 2024 · 36 min
The Black Sea mine threat
Two Royal Navy minehunters, given to Ukraine last year, are still in UK waters because they can’t get into the Black Sea while the war continues.But Ukraine’s Navy is using them to prepare for when they can start clearing the hundreds of explosives lying on the sea-bed. Sitrep’s Simon Newton has been watching some of that work on Exercise Sea Breeze in Scottish waters.Mark Rutte has been appointed as the next NATO Secretary General, so we ask a former alliance insider what the j
Jun 20, 2024 · 32 min
Who’s promising what for the Armed Forces?
Sitrep analyses the main party manifestos for the general election in which defence has had its highest profile in decades.AI and data collection are promised to bring a revolution to military capability.  But they could also make it harder to work with partners and allies by creating a new “language barrier”, so how do we avoid that?And the 2am phone call ordering a Brigadier to take his men to an unexpected war within days.  Julian Thompson, who led 3 Commando Brigad
Jun 13, 2024 · 38 min
War of the playground
While North Korea sends hundreds of balloons, loaded with rubbish and manure, across the border, South Korea is setting up giant speakers to blare K-pop music for miles into the North.Sitrep assess the risk of a playground scrap going out of control, and explains why many heavily armed nations indulge in childish tactics when they don’t want an all-out fight.Ukraine has been trying out experimental AI drone technology on the battlefield to lock onto targets by identifying their
Jun 6, 2024 · 44 min
The art of deception
From the wooden horse at Troy to rubber tanks in Dover military deceptions have been central to war for thousands of years.In the lead up to D-Day the allies convinced Germany their assault would be 150 miles away from Normandy. Professor Michael Clarke and Sitrep’s Claire Sadler explain the complex web of deceptions involving radar interference, wooden planes and King George VI.Former Royal Signals commander John Kirby tells Sitrep how he helped deceive Saddam Hussein’s forces
May 30, 2024 · 42 min
An insider’s guide to the NATO summit
Presidents and Prime Ministers have big decisions to make in Washington about how to better defend Europe, deter Russia, and support Ukraine.But how does it work behind closed doors, away from the choreographed photo ops, and who is actually making the decisions?  Lord Peter Ricketts, former UK Ambassador to NATO, lifts the lid on how some of the world’s most powerful people really behave and why.Amid ever louder chatter about allowing Ukraine to strike Russian sovereign te
May 23, 2024 · 44 min
Is it time for western boots in Ukraine?
Russia has the momentum in Ukraine right now, so is it time for a radical rethink of how we help?James Heappey, who served four years as Armed Forces Minister, tells Sitrep we should be thinking about putting a training mission into Western Ukraine along with air defence support.  Professor Michael Clarke explains the potential risks and benefits of shifting our red-lines.They also discuss the general election and whether it will mean a shake-up or continuity for defence.</
May 23, 2024 · 22 min
EXTRA – Hercules: first in, last out
For more than half a century the C-130 Hercules was the backbone of the RAF.It’s played a key role in daring special forces and counter terror mission, supported combat operations from the Falklands to Afghanistan, delivered disaster relief, and carried out evacuations in some of the most challenging of environments.Named after the mythological Greek hero with exceptional strength, Hercules was intended simply to be a cargo aircraft but its adaptability and versatility turned it
May 16, 2024 · 33 min
What Course Ahead For The Royal Navy?
Sitrep looks at the future shape of the Navy as the government talks of a new ‘golden era in shipbuilding’ and assesses what it can learn from current conflicts. Expert analysis from Commodore Steve Prest who’s just left the service and former Naval warfare officer Professor Peter Roberts from RUSI.Sitrep’s Simon Newton reports from Poland on Exercise Immediate Response, designed to reinforce the Alliance’s Eastern Flank and deter Russia, with 2,500 UK troops taking part and we hear fr