BFBS Radio Sitrep BFBS

RAF Typhoons fired in defence of Israel as part of a multi-national operation to stop Iran’s onslaught with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
A former fighter pilot tells Sitrep about the threats posed to pilots.
The Armed Forces put a lot of effort into leadership training. But what about the other side of the coin – followers?
The Centre for Army Leadership has been researching a concept called Followership – Sitrep discovers how it could benefit the service.
When a tank was found on the seabed off Devon in the 1980s it brought worldwide attention to a highly secretive but tragic exercise of the Second World War. 
Thousands of American troops trained along Slapton Sands to prepare for the D-Day landings in Normandy but a tragic turn of events meant hundreds of US Army and Navy personnel lost their lives.
Sitrep’s Briohny Williams has been there ahead of the 80th anniversary.

The Armed Forces put a lot of effort into leadership training, but have they lost sight of the people who are led?
The Army’s been researching the concept of followership, how it could benefit the service become part of its culture.
But what is followership, is it really different from the results of good leadership, and can it be part of an organisation that relies on command?
Sitrep talks to Lieutenant Colonel Dean Canham from the Centre For Army Leadership, and one of the leading experts on followership, Barbara Kellerman.

Defence Procurement minister James Cartlidge tells Sitrep the history of armed forces having “kit that let them down” keeps him awake at night. But he has a plan to fix the problems.
He tells Kate Gerbeau about the changes aimed at delivering equipment on time, and on budget, while Professor Michael Clarke assesses whether it will give troops what they need, when they need it.
We also look up close at one of those big procurement projects, as Sitrep’s David Sivills-McCann visits the under-construction Type 26 frigate HMS Cardiff.
Israel has sacked two officers over the air-strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, which it calls a ‘grave accident’. Sitrep explains the process of ‘deconfliction’ that should have prevented it from happening. 

British servicemen and women rely on having the right kit to do their jobs, and protect their lives at the front line, but MPs says the process of buying that equipment is broken.
Sitrep talks to Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge about his new plan to fix long delays, multi-billion pound overspends, and hopelessly overoptimistic ideas.
A new integration authority can veto plans that don’t work across all three services, equipment will be put into service earlier in development, and exportability will also be a priority.
But governments have struggled with these procurement problems for decades, so will this plan finally deliver the forces the kit they need, when they need it, or will the “legion stories of kit that let them down” continue?

Troops and hardware which Russia’s been holding in reserve have been moved to the 600-mile-long front line, and handful of local armoured offensives point to the start of a wider push.
Sitrep’s Professor Michael Clarke explains how Moscow wants to exploit Ukraine’s ammunition shortages, while Kyiv tries to keep the initiative by forcing Russia’s hand, and journalist Tom Mutch tells us what he saw and heard visiting frontline troops.
RAF airdrops have delivered tonnes of urgent food aid to Gaza in operations that carry risks both for the aircrew and civilians on the ground. Retired Air Vice Marshal Sean Bell explains how it’s done.
And is the mysterious Havana Syndrome, suffered by hundreds of US diplomats and spies, linked to the Salisbury poisonings? Hamish de Bretton-Gordon assesses new findings which claim the same Russian military intelligence unit is behind both.

Sitrep hears from Kupiansk, celebrated as a significant victory when it was liberated a year and a half ago, but in Russian sights once again as Moscow tries a new push forward.
Ukraine’s troops trying to hold firm are hampered by artillery shortages, they’ve been rationing shells for months, but have turned to small drones to fill at least some of the gap.
Journalist Tom Mutch tells us about his visit to Kupiansk, how the soldiers are coping, what they’re expecting, and how he was surprised by their morale.