Shows / BFBS Sitrep
Episodes
BFBS SitrepHow to see through the fog of war
Ukraine’s counter-offensive appears to be underway, bringing us a stream of contradictory claims and confusing headlines. Professor Michael Clarke, and former…
- BFBS Sitrep
Putin’s poodle?
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…
- BFBS Sitrep
Has Russia finally upped its game in the war with Ukraine?
With reports of an improvement in Russian battlefield tactics, that certainly could be the case. But, other intel suggests that the difficulties with enforcing…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA - Eject! Eject!
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…
- BFBS Sitrep
The game of cat-and-mouse in Ukraine
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…
- BFBS Sitrep
AI – the future of warfare?
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…
- BFBS Sitrep
Making a military moment in history
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…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA - The King’s flying instructor
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…
- BFBS Sitrep
Who calls the shots?
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…
- BFBS Sitrep
Spying and sabotage in the North Sea
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…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA – How to fight a war
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…
- BFBS Sitrep
The classified document cluster
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…
- BFBS Sitrep
How to lead the RAF
Air Marshal Richard Knighton has been named as the new Chief of Air Staff. We talk to one of his predecessors, Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford, about what…
- BFBS Sitrep
The waiting game in Ukraine
It’s spring but there’s no sign yet of the ‘spring offensives’ promised by both sides in Ukraine. They are quietly preparing though. Professor Michael Clarke…
- BFBS Sitrep
‘Iraq was our Vietnam in many ways’
Exactly 20 years ago more than 40,000 British troops were deployed on Operation Telic, to invade Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction which did not…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA – Back in Iraq 20 years on
Chris Hunter is a decorated high-threat bomb disposal operator. He had been in Iraq, on operation Telic, for just four days when he was shot in an ambush. Two…
- BFBS Sitrep
Will a bigger budget mean better forces?
The Chancellor has promised another 11 billion pounds for Defence over the next five years, but after soaring inflation and big donations to Ukraine how much…
- BFBS Sitrep
River warfare in Ukraine
Ukrainian troops are having to risk their lives, crossing icy waters, to defend small islands used for little more than holiday homes. We hear why these small…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA – ‘The Women Behind The Few’
The World War 2 RAF pilots, dubbed ‘The Few’ by Winston Churchill, could not have achieved all that they did without the support of a huge intelligence…
- BFBS Sitrep
The Army’s Ajax headache
The Army’s modernisation masterplan relies on Ajax, a new armoured vehicle that is already 6 years late, and has injured some troops with noise and vibration…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA – The battle for survival in Ukraine
Ukrainian journalist Maryana Drach tells Sitrep her experiences of living through a year of war in her country. The loss of her friend and colleague, Vira…
- BFBS Sitrep
Lessons from a year of war in Ukraine
12 months on from Russia’s full scale invasion Sitrep assesses how Ukraine defied predictions that it would lose in days – and instead pushed back Moscow’s…
- BFBS Sitrep
Balloon hunting over Britain
After three more mystery objects were found flying over North America and shot down, the Defence Secretary has ordered a security review of British Airspace…
- BFBS Sitrep
Should we stop calling veterans ‘heroes’?
Servicemen and women, along with veterans, are often called heroes – it’s well intentioned, but is that label helpful or harmful. Sitrep talks to a US…
- BFBS Sitrep
Cabinet civil-war over Defence?
The Defence Secretary says his own party has ‘hollowed out’ the forces while in government, but one of his fellow ministers says that’s ‘patently untrue’…
- BFBS Sitrep
The Women of Afghanistan
As the Taliban continue to prevent women and some girls from working or having an education an all party group has been established in Westminster to monitor…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA – From Paradise to Hell
After her husband and future Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Richards deployed to Afghanistan Lady Caroline Richards wanted to do something to improve the…
- BFBS Sitrep
Rebuilding the Army
As the UK sends tanks and artillery guns to Ukraine the head of the Army has conceded it will temporarily weaken the service. That’s on top of Army cuts…
- BFBS Sitrep
Japan turns to UK for better defence
British troops could be deployed to Japan – and Japanese troops to the UK – under an historic treaty that’s just been signed at the Tower of London On Sitrep a…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA – ‘Never Give Up’
Scotty Mills had an incredible 32 year career in the Royal Marines, but it only happened because he wanted to get out of the rain one day. He led a daring…
- BFBS Sitrep
The Sitrep Crystal Ball 2023
Sitrep looks ahead at what 2023 may have in store for the UK’s armed forces. Where might they find themselves sent and why? We also dig into new figures which…
- BFBS Sitrep
Sitrep’s quiz-of-the-year 2022
How much can you remember from a truly historic year? How many days did Russia plan for fighting in Ukraine, and how long has it actually been going on? Just…
- BFBS Sitrep
Military Christmases cancelled... again
More than a thousand servicemen and women who might have expected to celebrate Christmas at home are now standing by to cover for striking workers. The PM says…
- BFBS Sitrep
Arming Ukraine
Billions have been spent sending weapons and equipment to help Ukraine over the last 10 months. Sitrep hears from the logistics team at Scott Air Force Base in…
- BFBS Sitrep
Why is Russia firing blanks?
Fragments of a soviet era missile, designed for nuclear war, have been found in Ukraine. Russia appears to be firing the AS-15 Kent with ballast instead of a…
- BFBS Sitrep
Forces families face the cost-of-living crisis
Some soldiers are turning to food banks, or looking for second jobs, as they try to cope with soaring bills and prices. Sitrep talks to the Army’s most senior…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA - Meet the Army Sergeant Major
Sitrep talks to the British Army’s most senior soldier, whose job is to keep top brass in touch with the experiences of the men and women of the army. WO1 Paul…
- BFBS Sitrep
Investigating the Poland missile strike
The missile that killed two people in a Polish village was almost immediately reported as being Russian, but now is put down to an ‘unfortunate accident’ as…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA – ‘We have literally hamstrung Ukraine’
Ukraine has achieved its biggest victory since the early days of the war by liberating the city of Kherson from 8 months of occupation. But what comes next? In…
- BFBS Sitrep
Russia’s retreat – game changer, or bluff?
Russia has ordered its troops to abandon the strategically important city of Kherson, but don’t expect Ukrainian troops to march straight back in. Sitrep…
- BFBS Sitrep
Ending the UK’s Estonia ‘surge’
Britain is bringing home hundreds of extra troops who’ve bolstered the UK’s presence in Estonia since the invasion of Ukraine. But the government says it’s…
- BFBS Sitrep
Dirty bomb, or dirty trick?
Russia has used top-level diplomatic channels to tell the west Ukraine is planning a radioactive ‘dirty bomb’ attack on its own soil. Sitrep asks why the west…
- BFBS Sitrep
Why shouldn’t UK veterans train China’s military?
There’s been much outrage about 30 British veterans been who’ve training Chinese fighter pilots, and the government is promising a legally backed ban on…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA - Trailblazing women ‘going with the boys’ in WW2
The histories of World War Two were largely written by men, because they were almost exclusively the ones who experienced it at the front lines. But a handful…
- BFBS Sitrep
The price of Russia’s revenge
Russia has fired half-a-billion dollars worth of missiles at Ukraine in just one day, after a blast destroyed part of its bridge to Crimea. The Kremlin calls…
- BFBS Sitrep
New ships to protect UK energy and data
After what looks like a ‘grey zone’ attack on gas-pipelines the UK is rapidly buying two new Royal Navy ships. But how can they protect critical energy…
- BFBS Sitrep
RAF diversity recruitment drive – were mistakes made?
The Ministry of Defence has admitted "some mistakes were made" after reports of a recruitment drive favouring women and ethnic minorities. BFBS Sitrep hears…
- BFBS Sitrep
Has the war in Ukraine reached a turning point?
The whole programme is devoted to the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian ambassador to the UK tells Sitrep that President Putins’s announcement that Russia is…
- BFBS Sitrep
King Charles III – Commander in Chief
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was Commander in Chief of the UK’s Armed Forces for just over 70 years, now that job falls to her eldest son. BFBS Sitrep talks…
- BFBS Sitrep
New PM, a new era for Defence?
Liz Truss promised big on Defence in her campaign to replace Boris Johnson – now she has to deliver. BFBS Sitrep assesses what a big uplift in the defence…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA – ‘Never will I die’
A former member of the SBS shares his remarkable story with BFBS Sitrep. It was Toby Gutteridge’s dream job, but then it tore his life apart. He was shot in…
- BFBS Sitrep
‘Adversarial’ compensation system under fire.
The compensation system for injured service personnel has been accused of ‘lacking humanity’ after an assessment panel was heard laughing at a claimant. A…
- BFBS Sitrep
When will the Ukraine war end?
When Russia invaded Ukraine we thought it would probably be over in days. That was 6 months ago. So how, and when will it end? BFBS Sitrep gets the assessments…
- BFBS Sitrep
Extra – ‘Surrounded by the Taliban’
Former Royal Marine H Collins led the last diplomatic team out Kabul’s green zone as the Taliban marched on the city. He was responsible for the safety of…
- BFBS Sitrep
NATO ‘ready to intervene’ in Kosovo
The EU is hosting crisis talks, trying to prevent a new conflict between Serbia and Kosovo. NATO’s KFOR mission, including British troops, still has a UN…
BFBS SitrepAfghanistan one year on
12 months since the Taliban swept back into power BFBS Sitrep assesses what the return of the militants has meant for our security, the people of Afghanistan…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA – Detained by the Taliban
Journalist Lynne O’Donnell gives us a rare first-hand insight into how the Taliban is operating in Afghanistan. That insight has come at a cost, her life…
- BFBS Sitrep
China conducts live fire military exercises off Taiwan.
China says it will punish those who offend it as it launches live fire military drills off the coast of Taiwan. Sitrep looks at China’s tactics and how the…
- BFBS Sitrep
China or Russia – which is the bigger military threat?
China has just overtaken counter-terrorism as the biggest effort inside MI6, and the head of the Royal Navy says China is a bigger long term threat than…
- BFBS Sitrep
EXTRA: ‘The world has changed’
In less than a year war has broken out in Europe, and Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban. MPs say that means the UK’s new defence masterplan is already out…