BFBS Sitrep

Sitrep digs deep into the implications for the British military of a potential ceasefire in Ukraine.   The Defence Secretary has laid out Britain’s preparedness  to put boots on the ground and provide reassurance at sea and in the air.   So this time on Sitrep – how does Britain plan for that moment, and what’s its part in guaranteeing Ukraine’s future security?  We h...

80 years ago General Bill Slim accepted the surrender of Japan, marking the end of World War Two, after leading the 14th Army to victory in Burma. He is regarded by many as Britain’s greatest general, but how did he achieve what others believed to be impossible? A veteran tells Sitrep what made the Burma campaign so hard and why General Slim was so well regarded, while Viscount Mark Slim gives us...

The UK’s 2025 Carrier Strike Group has sailed to the other side of the world, and is halfway through that 8 month mission.  But what’s it all for?   Sitrep explains what the military drills along the way will have given the 4,000 servicemen and women taking part, and why the aircraft carrier’s role hosting defence and trade talks in Japan still matters.   The Royal Navy can’t do big...

The UK, France, and Canada are upping the pressure on Israel for a ceasefire, by talking about recognising a Palestinian state. Even Donald Trump has told Israel it has to “do it a different way” because of “real starvation”. But will this diplomatic pressure make any difference? Professor Michael Clarke and Middle East expert Dr Burcu Ozcelik consider whether cutting military aid might be more ef...

Britain and France say they’re ready to lead a multinational Ukraine Support Force, in the event of a ceasefire, with a British led two-star HQ in Kyiv and Command and Control from London or Paris. They promise air and sea policing, and logistic support on the ground. Senior RUSI researcher and former infantry officer Ed Arnold explains the thinking, and the big gaps that need to be filled. Sitrep...

After months of ratcheting up pressure on Ukraine to do a peace deal, Donald Trump’s now supplying arms to them, and sending the bill to the rest of NATO. But can weapons worth billions turn the tide, maybe change President Putin’s calculus, or will they just drag out a slow-motion defeat? The military options are explained by former defence attaché John Foreman and Professor Michael Clarke. What’...

Hundreds of British people answered Ukraine’s urgent plea for military volunteers to help it fight back when Russian tanks rolled in. Some were novices, who travelled against UK government advice, while others took experience from the Britain’s armed forces. The journalist Colin Freeman has got to know many of them during his work in Ukraine and is sharing the story of the war through their eyes,...

Sitrep digs deep into homeland defence in the UK. A former National Security adviser lays out the potential threats we face and we ask how prepared are we for a wartime scenario?  The Colonel in charge of engaging the Army with the public says the challenge has never been bigger . And how do you persuade the public that defence matters? A former Lance Corporal, now an MP faces that...

War is changing and military strategy no longer delivers victory because of a “short war fallacy”. That warning comes from eminent defence historian Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, who was part of the Iraq inquiry panel. He tells Sitrep why he believes military strategists, and their political masters, need to change their mindset, while Professor Michael Clarke explains how the UK’s recent defen...

The history of the Battle of Britain has been written many times over the last 85 years, but almost always from a British perspective. The award-winning aviation historian Dr Victoria Taylor believes that’s led to the Luftwaffe’s role being oversimplified, meaning we don’t truly understand what happened. She talks to Sitrep editor James Hirst about her new book “Eagle Days”, which takes a fresh lo...

NATO countries have signed up hundreds of billions of pounds in extra defence spending by 2035, but no one has told us yet what it will be spent on. But Mike explains how the UK’s part can already be seen in recent Strategic Defence Review. From F-bombs to F-35s, and the viral ‘Daddy’ moment, there was a lot of political theatre at the NATO summit. But a former commander of the UK-led Allied Rapid...

The UK has around 100 square miles of sovereign territory in Cyprus, home to more than 3000 Defence personnel, and it is a lynchpin of British military operations around the world. On the doorstep of the Middle East it’s used from everything from bombing missions, to intelligence gathering and decompression for troops returning from operations. Sitrep talks to Colonel Vicky Reid about her key role...

RAF planes have been moved to the Middle East for ‘contingency support’, but what could those contingencies end up being? Professor Michael Clarke maps out the British military presence in the region, which could come under threat from Iran in a worst-case scenario. Lord Peter Ricketts, who led many a crisis meeting as National Security Adviser, explains how and why the UK is making military plans...

The head of NATO issues his starkest warning yet about Russia’s readiness for war. We speak to Ed Arnold, a senior research fellow at the defence think-tank RUSI and a former infantry officer. In Ukraine, drone warfare is reaching ever-more sophisticated levels. We look at how this single weapon is changing warfare with Dr. Ulrike Franke, a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign R...

It’s the new defence masterplan for the next decade and beyond, but what does the Strategic Defence Review mean for the Armed Forces? The lead military author of the review, General Sir Richard Barrons, joins a special live edition of Sitrep to explain the plan and answer your questions about how it should work. Former Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe adds his insights to the discussion with Kate G...

As the Royal Navy unveils HMS Venturer to the public for the first time – we ask, what hope does the first Inspiration Class Frigate offer a surface fleet short on ships and sailors? Sitrep’s reporter David Sivills-McCann has all the answers - he witnessed the new type 31 frigate rolling out of the build hall in Rosyth. The former second sea lord and Babcock chief executive of marine Sir Nick Hine...

Keir Starmer says it puts Britain back on the world stage.  Some critics claim it could drag Britain into some kind of “EU army”. Sitrep explains what is, and isn’t, included in the new 62-point defence partnership agreement, and what it might mean for our Armed Forces. Amid intense scrutiny of past actions by UK Special Forces, and a former SAS commander’s warning about the “complete absence...

New satellite images show Russia’s building up its military presence on the border of Finland, as it reorganises and concentrates its military closer to NATO neighbours. But is this preparation for war within years, or trying to maintain “peace through fear”? Mike explains what Russia’s doing with its forces, and Finnish OSINT analyst Emil Kastehelmi tells us what he’s found in the satellite image...

For 9 years in a row the service complaints system has been deemed to not be efficient, effective or fair by the watchdog that oversees it. But despite that, and some of the high-profile stories of past failures, the Ombudsman says there’s been significant progress and that planned changes can deliver more improvements. Sitrep talks at length to Mariette Hughes about why delays don’t just affect t...

Britain and its allies fought Nazi Germany for a gruelling four and a half years in all, but once allied ground troops landed in Europe, creating the Western Front, they completed the victory in just eleven months. Kate and Mike are joined by Dr Meghan Kellegher from the RAF Museum to explain the strategy which led to victory, and what the allies got wrong as well as right. VE Day wasn’t the end o...

Pakistan and India have already fought two wars over disputed Kashmir, now after a terror attack that killed 26 tourists spiralling tensions have brought warnings another war could be imminent. South Asia expert Dr Walter Ladwig tells us why some kind of clash seems inevitable, as Sitrep compares military capabilities and past conflicts to explain who’s most likely to come out on top. The RAF has...

Former Conservative MP Jack Lopresti joined Ukraine’s foreign legion, in November 2024, to share his insights and experience of procurement and diplomacy. Those skills have become all the more important since the diplomatic earthquakes of Donald Trump’s presidency, including a temporary halt to American weapons, ammunition and intelligence for Ukraine. Mr Lopresti tells Sitrep about the impact on...

Drones have come of age in Ukraine, ruling the battlefield and overtaking artillery as the leading cause of casualties. Kate and Mike are joined by RAF veteran Dr Keith Dear to explain how small devices once designed for consumers are now not only flying spies, but also lethal weapons that have radically changed the way land battles are fought. Ukrainian drone-experts are reported to be training B...

The death and destruction in Ukraine has only intensified in the two months since Donald Trump unilaterally announced peace talks, and the one month since Ukraine offered a 30-day ceasefire. With diplomacy having delivered nothing so far Sitrep explains how the war has played out in that time, who has the battlefield momentum, and the potential paths ahead. Equipment is key to Ukraine’s chances bu...

The Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier will be accompanied by more than 3000 servicemen and women, up to 24 RAF fighter jets, four British ships and four more from allies to sail as a carrier strike group halfway round the world. But it is a considerably more dangerous world than four years ago when a British carrier group last sailed to the Indo-Pacific. Retired Commodore Steve Prest tells us w...