BFBS Sitrep
by BFBS Radio
Latest episode
How the Joint Expeditionary Force Mk 2 will challenge Russian…
How the Joint Expeditionary Force Mk 2 will challenge Russian…
About this podcast
Award winning Sitrep brings you discussion and analysis on defence, foreign policy and the stories affecting the British Forces.
Presented by Kate Gerbeau, with expert analysis from Professor Michael Clarke.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 961 episodes
- How the Joint Expeditionary Force Mk 2 will challenge Russian sabotage at sea · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 219The Joint Expeditionary Force was launched 12 years ago, but only this week was real flesh put on the bones of how the northern European alliance train, plan and operate as a…
- How does the situation in Iran affect the British military? · 39 min · Season 1 Episode 218The US has started strikes on Iran again. But is it limited and defensive as we’re told? What is the military strategy underpinning it all? And what does it mean for the British…
- How Regular Civilians Can Help The Armed Forces Prepare For War · 38 min · Season 1 Episode 217The Head of the Army calls for the Nation to get behind his soldiers and prepare for sacrifices, the Defence Secretary tells the country we have 1000 days to prepare for war and…
- Troubles Bill · 32 min · Season 1 Episode 216The Northern Ireland Troubles - MPs back the latest legislation designed to tackle the unresolved legacy of decades of violent conflict. Amid the warnings it could leave veterans…
- We have to be faster than our adversaries · 37 min · Season 1 Episode 215What are the priorities of the UK’s most senior military officer? Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton launches defence exhibition DSEI with a stark warning: we have to be faster…
- How to defend the UK from missiles and drones. · 49 min · Season 1 Episode 214After decades of believing the risk of air-strikes on UK soil were miniscule, everyone now accepts we need to significantly boost our air and missile. The how, the when, and the…
- Another Iraq exit… will this one last? · 40 min · Season 1 Episode 213All UK troops, and the whole Global Coalition, have left Iraq after 12 years with their mission to support local troops against Islamic State terrorists deemed complete. Last…
- Replacing 5,000 Land Rovers · 38 min · Season 1 Episode 212The search is on to find a replacement for the Ministry of Defence’s fleet of five thousand Land Rovers. Forces News reporter Simon Newton has test-driven some of the contenders…
- What will replace the main service rifle, the SA80? · 39 min · Season 1 Episode 210There’s a rifle race going on right now – Project Grayburn is the campaign to find the successor to the British Army’s SA80 which entered service in the 1980s. We’ll be looking…
- Can the UK Strategic Reserve be reawakened? · 46 min · Season 1 Episode 209In theory 95,000 veterans could be liable for recall if the UK was at war, or headed that way, but for decades it’s been little more than a notional force, lying dormant. That is…
- British troops caught in “The war of losers” · 44 min · Season 1 Episode 208Iran’s strikes on US military bases in the Middle East are a blunt reminder that British servicemen and women deployed in the region face real risks. Professor Michael Clarke…
- Can UK tech break battlefield deadlock in Ukraine? · 56 minThe UK has handed final blueprints for Storm Shadow missiles to Kyiv, while a treasure trove of battlefield data is coming to Britain. Can this tech-swap help Ukraine break…
- Russia’s revenge threat – what might Moscow do to the UK? · 48 min · Season 1 Episode 207It’s not just Russia’s threat of “consequences” for British made drones used in Ukrainian strikes, US intelligence says Moscow is considering a bigger provocation of NATO…
- How do you prevent a world war? · 40 min · Season 1 Episode 206The Chief of the Defence Staff says it’s the "most dangerous period" he’s known in his entire military career. And we've all heard the warnings of the potential for direct armed…
- The race to weaponise new tech · 36 min · Season 1 Episode 205From quantum computing to biotechnology NATO has just upped its investment in startups that are trying to turn science-fiction ideas into frontline capabilities. Sitrep explains…
- Why are British tanks leaving Russia’s doorstep? · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 204The official announcement of hundreds more British troops for Estonia, transitioning to a “mobile anti-armour” force, missed out one key detail. It will end a decade of British…
- Why the Armed Force Bill matters to servicemen and women · 1 h 3 min · Season 1 Episode 203Armed Forces bills come round every five years and you might think they’re just a box ticking exercise to renew the legal basis of our military. But they’re so much more…
- How the top British officer in NATO has filled gaps left by the US · 41 min · Season 1 Episode 202The UK has joined other European allies to commit more military capability to NATO’s battle plans, after the US made cuts “with immediate effect” That’s been revealed to Sitrep…
- NATO 3.0 – Installing update · 45 min · Season 1 Episode 201Behind the political theatre $50bn worth of procurement plans were announced at the NATO summit, from artillery shells to airlift and space capabilities. Sitrep explains who’s…
- Can the Defence Investment Plan deliver war-ready forces? · 52 min · Season 1 Episode 200The lead military author of the Strategic Defence Review, General Sir Richard Barrons, gives his verdict on the DIP. “Doing the right thing, but not enough not quickly enough” He…
- Hands on with Ukraine’s battle transforming tech · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 199From remote controlled bombs-on-wheels to fooling Russian missiles that they’re flying over Peru, Simon Newton has been in Ukraine looking their homegrown battlefield…
- The Royal Navy’s Iran “peace deal” mission explained · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 198From mine clearance to escorting tankers the UK and France promised to lead a “defensive” mission to reassure shipping “when conditions allow.” With the ink now dry on the first…
- EXTRA – What now for defence after two damning resignations? · 41 min · Season 1 Episode 197John Healey’s parting broadside as Defence Secretary, and Al Carns resignation as Armed Forces Minister, are clearly intended to jolt the government into a rethink of the Defence…
- Spies target military personnel through ad data and fake jobs · 48 min · Season 1 Episode 196MI5 says Chinese intelligence have been trying to lure military personnel into revealing secrets through fake job postings on sites like Linkedin, while the Pentagon reveals data…
- EXTRA – How the tank changed the face of battle · 37 minThe tank has been written off many times in history, even when the very first ones rolled onto the battlefield in World War One. But this British invention continues to shape the…
- What to watch for when the DIP drops · 52 minThe long-delayed Defence Investment Plan, to turn the future blueprint of the Armed Forces into reality, is in sight. But with billions missing from the budget what do we need…
- British troops rehearse for war in Estonia · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 195Exercise Spring Storm may be an annual event for NATO, but this time there’s no playing nicely with words. The troops taking part say they are “rehearsing for war”, just miles…
- EXTRA – Land ISTAR: The Army’s plan for data-driven dominance · 32 min · Season 1 Episode 194Sitrep dives into the future of the Army and explains how a new generation of battlefield sensors and worldwide connectivity could transform British soldiering. The Land ISTAR…
- Sitrep Live: “You’re either very stupid or very brave” – reflections on serving in Iraq · 54 min · Season 1 Episode 193From invasion, through stabilisation and counter-insurgency to training Iraqi forces, Operation Telic involved more than 135,000 British servicemen and women from 2003 to 2011…
- British warships head to the Arctic and Middle East · 48 min · Season 1 Episode 192The Royal Navy, already thinly stretched, is now sending HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Duncan to the High North, while HMS Dragon heads in the other direction to loiter for a…
- Ukrainian drones learn from 4 years of war · 42 minUkraine has amassed so much battlefield footage from drones that it would take more than 200 years to watch. Now it’s using that footage, with machine learning, to teach drones…
- EXTRA - “Security Through Cooperation” · 23 min · Season 1 Episode 190Across three decades Rose Gottemoeller has had a ringside seat at key moments in the changing relationship between Russia, the US, and allies like the UK. As a former Deputy…
- A bitter pill - Justice vs Reconciliation for Northern Ireland’s troubles · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 189Three decades since the end of the troubles the legacy on Northern Ireland is affecting today’s Armed Forces, with growing talk it’s damaging recruitment and driving some to…
- Japan rejects pacifism, what does that mean for the UK? · 49 min · Season 1 Episode 188Japan eases restrictions in defence exports, taking a step away from decades of self-imposed pacifism after the Second World War. On Sitrep, we ask, what will they be selling and…
- Is the UK now too late to be ready for war? · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 187When they still don’t know what equipment they will get, and when, it’s extremely hard for the UK’s Armed Forces deliver on their mission to be ready for war. But the clock is…
- The Royal Navy plans for policing an Iran peace-deal · 53 min · Season 1 Episode 186British military planners are working with allies on how to make the Strait of Hormuz “safe and accessible”. The PM says it’s important we get the route open, but how and when…
- Defending the UK without the US · 45 min · Season 1 Episode 185The UK’s defence plans have relied, for decades, on the assumption that America will help us in a crisis. But we can’t assume that any more, so what are those plans worth now?…
- EXTRA – Is it time for another “super-regiments” shake up in the Army? · 17 min · Season 1 Episode 18420 years ago the “future infantry structure” plan provoked outrage. To reshape a shrunken army some historic regiments were amalgamated, losing names and cap badges, while others…
- Home or Away – Where’s best for British training of Ukrainian forces? · 37 min · Season 1 Episode 183Tens-of-thousands of Ukrainian troops have been trained in the UK on Operation Interflex, but Ukraine says our trainers now lack “modern combat experience”, and that the lessons…
- How the Iran war threatens Ukraine’s fight for survival · 53 min · Season 1 Episode 182There are only so many weapons in the world to go round, so the laws of supply and demand leave Ukraine struggling even more to get what it desperately needs. And Russia’s been…
- Hard lessons for the UK from the Iran war · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 181The UK ramped up its air power in and around the Middle East before the Iran war, but the fact it took nearly a fortnight to deploy an air-defence destroyer has put military…
- Royal Navy warship heads to the Middle East · 43 min · Season 1 Episode 180The Royal Navy deploys a destroyer to the Mediterranean to bolster defences in the region, amidst a war in the Middle East. But HMS Dragon won’t set sail until next week and it…
- Hitting Russia in the roubles – could economic warfare secure victory for Ukraine? · 53 min · Season 1 Episode 178As Ukraine fights its war for survival alone on the battlefield, the UK has announced new sanctions against Russia to throttle the supply of money into Putin's war machine. But…
- Why the AWOL Defence Investment Plan is a big problem. · 40 min · Season 1 Episode 177The Prime Minister says we are going to have to spend more, faster, on defence. But his government hasn’t even decided how it will spend the money already in the budget, despite…
- Sitrep live from the Munich Security Conference · 1 h 3 minThe Prime Minister chose a stage in front of dozens of fellow world leaders to announce he’s sending HMS Prince of Wales to lead a carrier strike group to the arctic. But why?…
- NATO’s big military shake-up explained · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 176A reshuffle of who-commands-what in NATO puts a British General in charge of the only NATO operation on US soil, while an American will take over at Maritime Command in the UK…
- Russia turns the screws on freezing Ukrainians · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 175Despite temperatures below -20C attacks are targeting not just electricity and gas infrastructure in Ukraine, but heating plants which supply thousands of homes at a time. Is…
- Could UK troops defend Greenland and does it even need defending? · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 174Much buzz about a possible NATO Arctic Sentry operation helped calm Donald Trump’s talk of taking over Greenland, and the UK is one of the big backers. But do we have enough…
- Why UK defence is “uniquely vulnerable” to US threats · 43 min · Season 1 Episode 173Donald Trump crossed a line by threatening economic warfare against the UK and other allies. He may have backed down, for now, but former Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace says…
- Reality bites for the future of the Armed Forces · 53 min · Season 1 Episode 172The Chief of Defence Staff refuses to say cuts are coming, but has confirmed there isn’t enough money for everything they want to do to make the Armed Forces war-ready and…
