BFBS Sitrep

Three and a half years into Ukraine’s fight for survival against Russia, it has offered to freeze the front lines in return for peace talks.  But Russia’s not biting, so Sitrep explains where those front lines are right now and where the military momentum is pressing hardest, to understand where the war might go next as winter approaches. Ukrainian journalist Roman Pahulych shares insights fr...

The blueprint for the UK’s Armed Forces depends on data from every military sensor being available to every person who needs it. Whether the information comes from the battlefield, space, or cyberspace, and whether it’s required at the front-line, PJHQ, in a cockpit or deep in the ocean. The Digital Targeting Web is meant to be up and running in the next couple of years, but how will it work and w...

The government has promised thousands of drones will make the armed forces stronger and safer, but is refusing to say how many of them it’s ordered over the last year. Professor Michael Clarke analyses the numbers that are available and explains why Ukraine shouldn’t be treated as a template for the future, even though drones are here to stay. Sitrep also talks to the new Veterans & Defence Pe...

After a 37 year career in the Army Brigadier Ben Barry became one of the UK’s most respected land warfare researchers and analysts. Now he’s drawn together his experiences in and out of uniform to write a new history of the British Army over the last half century. It tells the stories not just of the major operations and battles but also big exercises, and plans which came to nothing. He tells Kat...

As well as condemning “fat” generals and “woke” policies US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has told America’s top officers they must end a ‘poisonous culture of risk aversion’. Sitrep separates the warfighting logic from the culture-war politics and assesses whether UK defence could benefit from being prepared to take greater risks. We also examine the cost of silence for special forces, and...

The Foreign Secretary says we will “confront” Russian planes after repeated invasions of NATO airspace. Donald Trump says they should be shot down. Sitrep talks to former RAF pilot Air Marshal Greg Bagwell about how intercepts are carried out, the options for pilots, and the risks involved. Kate and Mike also talk to Keir Giles, who advises governments on Moscow’s military mindset, about what it h...

RAF Typhoons join an air defence operation following Russian incursions into Polish and Romanian airspace. They’ll work with allied forces, including France, and Germany, helping to defend the eastern flank as part of Nato's Eastern Sentry. Sitrep digs deep with Forces News reporter Simon Newton. Also President Trump’s state visit to the UK is breaking military ceremonial records.  Sitrep tal...

The new Chief of Defence Staff has told defence industry they need to “step up” and do more to make Britain’s Armed Forces ready for warfighting. Sitrep is at one of the world’s largest defence equipment exhibitions to see the latest military technology, and assess the role of defence firms in deterring or winning a war. Ministers want help ending “stupid rules”, top brass want kit quicker, and sh...

China’s released 80,000 doves at the end of its 80th anniversary victory day parade, but the messaging of military might was far louder than appeals for peace. Professor Michael Clarke and defence analyst Dr James Bosbotinis explain what new hardware Beijing chose to show off, what the hypersonic missiles and uncrewed jets mean for its military capability, and the significance of who was (and who...

Oslo is spending £10bn to equip itself with five Type 26 frigates – a big vote of confidence in these submarine hunters already being built for the Royal Navy. But it will also mean the already-stretched timeline to deliver the Navy’s eight new frigates becomes even longer. Former Director of Navy Acquisition, Commodore Steve Prest, explains what cutting edge capabilities of the Type 26 that persu...

Sitrep analyses open-source intelligence which shows an uptick in secretive surveillance flights, by the UK, US and Russia, in the High North and over the Baltic.   Defence Analyst and former infantry officer Ed Arnold explains the possibilities behind the activity, and we hear first hand from NATO's Arctic Ocean patrols.   Could peat-bogs be used as tank-traps to help protect Eastern Eu...

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...