BFBS Radio Sitrep

4.8 (46)
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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.

6 DAYS AGO

Inside the UK’s Defence Review

Two architects of the Strategic Defence Review have lifted the lid on how they’re working on the plan for the future of our Armed Forces. But when they tell MP’s one aim is to get it “as least wrong as possible” on predicting future conflicts, does that inspire confidence? Kate and Mike are joined by Sitrep’s Sian Grzeszczyk Melbourne to analyse what’s been revealed, and what is still shrouded in secrecy. Syria’s civil war appeared dormant for years, but has suddenly reignited. Last time it led to the UK’s Operation Shader against jihadist terrorists, so are we going to have to rethink the ending of that operation? Brigadier Gavin Thompson explains why he and several dozen other British Officers are embedded into Kuwait’s armed forces, and gives an insight into their life and work in the small gulf state.

46 min
6 DAYS AGO · BONUS

EXTRA – How 9 years have changed the world

Sitrep talks to the outgoing Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute, Dr. Karin von Hippel RUSI has contributed to UK defence & security thinking for almost two centuries, and under Dr. von Hippel’s leadership it’s help the country face threats ranging from the Covid pandemic to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Before leading RUSI she was a key figure at the US State Department, as Chief-of-Staff to General John Allen who led the global coalition against the Islamic State terror group. After 9 years at the helm of RUSI, Karin talks to Kate Gerbeau about the many challenges and surprises the world has brought in that time, and what lies ahead.

20 min
28 NOV

Where are the red-lines against grey-zone attacks?

Drones buzzing airbases and HMS Queen Elizabeth. Undersea cables cut. Mysterious parcel fires at air-freight depots. These have all been described as hybrid, grey-zone, or sub-threshold attacks against the UK and it’s allies. But if they are all below the threshold of an act of war, where does that threshold lie? Sitrep explores the use of deniable attacks, from disruption and disinformation to assassination and bomb plots. How do we defend against them, deter enemies from even trying, and stand up to international bullying? Kate Gerbeau and Professor Michael Clarke talk to grey-zone expert Elisabeth Braw, former military intelligence officer Colonel Philip Ingram, and Tan Dhesi MP who chairs the Commons Defence Committee.

34 min
28 NOV · BONUS

EXTRA – Meet the new Chairman of the Commons Defence Committee

From testing whether we’re ready for war to checking whether forces families get the support they need, the Commons Defence Committee plays a key role in overseeing our defence. Kate Gerbeau talks to the man chosen by his fellow MP’s to chair the committee in this Parliament. Tan Dhesi has a background in maths, management science, and running his own construction business. So what does he bring to this important defence role, why did he want the job, and what does he hope to achieve for the UK’s defence and it’s service personnel?

22 min
25 NOV

NELSON: Legend Forged in Battle, with Professor Michael Clarke and Dr Gregory Fremont-Barnes.

BFBS Forces News presents ‘Great British Battle Commanders’ hosted by Professor Michael Clarke, Sitrep’s defence analyst, assessing the leadership and strategy of Admiral Lord Nelson with Dr Gregory Fremont-Barnes, author of several books on Nelson and his Navy, and senior lecturer in war studies at RMAS. The interview is recorded in Nelson’s cabin on HMS Victory in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Nelson Glossary Cuthbert Collingwood Admiral and Second in Command at Trafalgar. John Jervis Earl of St Vincent, Admiral and Commander at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. George Towry Captain, involved in the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Thomas Troubridge Captain, involved in the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Ralph Abercromby General, mortally wounded at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. Pierre-Charles de Villeneuve French Admiral and overall Commander of the Combined Fleet at Trafalgar. Frederico Gravina Spanish Admiral and Second in Command at Trafalgar.

31 min
21 NOV

1000 days on - are Ukraine and Russia locked into a war of attrition?

Russia thought it would conquer Ukraine in 10 days, Ukrainian resolve is still preventing that. But after more than a million casualties on both sides, thousands of pieces of military hardware destroyed, will it simply come down to which side can outlast the other? Sitrep’s Simon Newton and Hannah King join us from Kyiv to share how the people, and their resolve, are holding up, while Professor Michael Clarke analyses the battlefield picture. If it doesn’t come down simply to attrition then what could prove to be a tipping point? Ukraine hopes permission to fire British Storm Shadow and American ATACMS missiles into Russia could be a game changer, while Russia’s banking on ratcheting up nuclear rhetoric to discourage western support. Sitrep assesses the effect they could have.

49 min
21 NOV · BONUS

EXTRA – Surprise defence cuts explained.

The Defence Secretary has announced that more than 30 helicopters will be retired early, along with 5 ships, and 46 drones, all of them he calls ‘outdated capabilities’. Most significant, after years of ‘will they, won’t they’, the Royal Marines amphibious assault ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, get the axe. Critics call it a black day for the Marines but the Defence Secretary insists they have a bright future. So which is it? Professor Michael Clarke explains how each of the cuts will, or won’t, affect our military capabilities. He also analyses the shake-up at the very top of the forces giving the Chief of Defence Staff more power over all the services. And why is all this being announced with months of work still to do on the Defence Review, with more big change ahead?

27 min
18 NOV

MONTGOMERY – Unbeatable and Unbearable? With Professor Michael Clarke and General Lord Richards, former Chief of the Defence Staff.

BFBS Forces News presents ‘Great British Battle Commanders’ hosted by Professor Michael Clarke, Sitrep’s defence analyst, assessing the leadership and strategy of Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery with the former Chief of the Army and former Chief of the Defence Staff, General Lord Richards. The interview is recorded in the D-Day Map Room at Southwick House, outside Portsmouth, which was the nerve centre for Operation Overlord. Glossary for Audio General Dwight D Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander 1944-1945 Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, Deputy Supreme Commander to Eisenhower Field Marshal Herbert Plumer, British First World war general Field Marshal Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1944 Field Marshal Lord John Gort, Commander of British forces in France, 1940 Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck, British general Field Marshal Harold Alexander, British general General George S. Patton, US general General Frederick E. Morgan, British general General Omar N. Bradley, US general Field Marshal William J. Slim, British general

40 min

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4.8

out of 5

46 Ratings

Excellent programme, shame about the podcast

16/06/2019

M247A2

The Sitrep programme is excellent and I look forward to the weekly instalments as one of the highlights of my podcasting week. However, the podcast is sometimes a repeat of a previous episode or, in a recent case, a two-minute news flash rather than the programme advertised. Why does no one check this before release? For example, 13 June 2019 episode has people talking about leaving the EU on 29 March. This is presumably a repeat of an old episode, rather than the one advertised? It’s been a couple of weeks since I heard a genuine new episode now.

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.