BFBS Radio Sitrep BFBS

From the wooden horse at Troy to rubber tanks in Dover military deceptions have been central to war for thousands of years.
In the lead up to D-Day the allies convinced Germany their assault would be 150 miles away from Normandy. Professor Michael Clarke and Sitrep’s Claire Sadler explain the complex web of deceptions involving radar interference, wooden planes and King George VI.
Former Royal Signals commander John Kirby tells Sitrep how he helped deceive Saddam Hussein’s forces during the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, and General Sir Richard Barrons explains how deceptions can still happen in the transparent battlespace which revealed Russia’s invasion plan for Ukraine months before it happened.
Plus Christian Andrews, from the cast of Operation Mincemeat, tells us how one of history’s most audacious military deceptions has been transformed into an Olivier Award winning musical. 

Presidents and Prime Ministers have big decisions to make in Washington about how to better defend Europe, deter Russia, and support Ukraine.
But how does it work behind closed doors, away from the choreographed photo ops, and who is actually making the decisions?  Lord Peter Ricketts, former UK Ambassador to NATO, lifts the lid on how some of the world’s most powerful people really behave and why.
Amid ever louder chatter about allowing Ukraine to strike Russian sovereign territory with US missiles Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, the Army’s former assistant-director of ISR, explains what would be on the target list and how much such strikes could change.
And 80 years since D-Day Professor Michael Clarke reviews your suggestions for the best books and films to tell that story.

Russia has the momentum in Ukraine right now, so is it time for a radical rethink of how we help?
James Heappey, who served four years as Armed Forces Minister, tells Sitrep we should be thinking about putting a training mission into Western Ukraine along with air defence support.  Professor Michael Clarke explains the potential risks and benefits of shifting our red-lines.
They also discuss the general election and whether it will mean a shake-up or continuity for defence.
And former RAF Hercules pilot Scottie Bateman shares stories of incredible service across more than half a century by the swiss-army-knife of tactical airlift, and its crews.

For more than half a century the C-130 Hercules was the backbone of the RAF.
It’s played a key role in daring special forces and counter terror mission, supported combat operations from the Falklands to Afghanistan, delivered disaster relief, and carried out evacuations in some of the most challenging of environments.
Named after the mythological Greek hero with exceptional strength, Hercules was intended simply to be a cargo aircraft but its adaptability and versatility turned it into the swiss-army-knife of tactical airlift.
Now the life story of the plane, also known affectionately as Fat Albert, is told by one of its former pilots in a new book simply titled ‘Hercules’.  Scott Bateman tells Kate Gerbeau some of the many tales of service by Hercules and the people who flew on board.

Sitrep looks at the future shape of the Navy as the government talks of a new ‘golden era in shipbuilding’ and assesses what it can learn from current conflicts. Expert analysis from Commodore Steve Prest who’s just left the service and former Naval warfare officer Professor Peter Roberts from RUSI.
Sitrep’s Simon Newton reports from Poland on Exercise Immediate Response, designed to reinforce the Alliance’s Eastern Flank and deter Russia, with 2,500 UK troops taking part and we hear from the Telegraph’s Colin Freeman in Ukraine. 
Finally, Sitrep discusses how soldiers should balance taking ground in conflict with the duty to protect historic sites and artifacts with Dr Peter Caddick-Adams and the Commander of the Cultural Property Protection Unit Roger Curtis.

The cyber-attack which potentially exposed names and bank details of more than 270-thousand people is certainly embarrassing, but what might a “malign actor” do with that information?
The founding Chief Executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, Ciaran Martin, tells Sitrep the hackers haven’t got any “crown jewels”, but that statements of “no evidence” that data was compromised offer little reassurance.
Professor Michael Clarke explains how it might be part of a Chinese effort to “hoover up data” about UK citizens for future use, and former intelligence officer Colonel Philip Ingram tells us the red flags to watch out for if your data has been taken.
Sitrep hears from Georgia amid mass protests from citizens who say it’s turning towards Russia and away from its partnership with NATO.
And we delve into the history of the pocket tools carried by troops, as bladeless versions of the Swiss Army Knife are introduced.
(More information about the MoD data breach, including contact information for support, is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/advice-on-the-armed-forces-pay-network-compromise)