BFBS Sitrep

Two years since British troops left, and the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, millions of people are going hungry while women and girls have been stripped of basic rights. The Chairman of the Commons Defence Committee says we need to stop ‘shouting from the sidelines’ and re-engage with the Taliban, but after posting a video from Helmand describing the country as ‘transformed’ he’s facing a no...

Ukraine formed 12 brigades, each up to 5,000 soldiers strong, to take back territory from Russia. So far it’s only committed around a third of those forces. Professor Michael Clarke and Forces News Ukraine reporter Simon Newton discuss the military logic, and whether the next phase of the counter-offensive has actually already started. Is there a better way to handle complaints from members o...

The pen, they say, is mightier than the sword, but how? Words can be used as a weapon of war, and the right words used early enough might even save you from the many costs of kinetic operations. That’s the argument put forward in a new book – ‘Subversion, the strategic weaponization of narratives’. It’s author, Dr Andreas Krieg, tells us how weaponised narratives have been used to do things like o...

Ukraine’s President Zelensky says it’s ‘inevitable’ that war is returning to Russia, and two drone strikes on a Moscow skyscraper look like an attempt to prove the point. Professor of Defence Studies Michael Clarke explains why he’s worried by this, and we assess whether it makes any strategic sense. Ukraine is manufacturing, and using up, thousands of drones every month. Svitlana Morenets in Kyiv...

The President of Belarus says Wagner fighters, exiled to his country, are ‘getting on our nerves’ and want ‘an excursion’ into Poland. Sitrep examines whether this seriously threatens war between NATO and Russia, and we talk to Alicia Kearns MP about cross party warnings that Wagner is a direct threat to the UK. The Prime Minister has apologised to LGBT veterans who were kicked out of the forces,...

The UK’s ‘defence masterplan’ has been updated after just two years, because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Its conclusions are essentially to stick with the old plan, but it must be done faster and better. Despite being re-examined cuts of thousands of soldiers, and a third of the Army’s tanks, will stay. Professor Michael Clarke explains the key points, what they’ll mean for the Armed Forces,...

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 mil...

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...

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...

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. What could Germany’s...

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...

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 mil...

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-com...

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...

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 sever...

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,...

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 Ka...

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 ho...

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...

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-drone strike on the Kremlin. Ukr...

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, w...

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...

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 D...

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...

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 f...