BFBS

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Channel • 11 Shows

News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated weekly
Careers

Careers

Updated weekly
History

History

Updated weekly
American Football

American Football

Updated 11/05/2021
History

History

Updated twice weekly
Careers

Careers

Updated 10/06/2024
Personal Journals

Personal Journals

Updated weekly

8 JAN

WTAF? Would Trump actually fight (for Greenland)?

Denmark says US threats to take Greenland by force would ‘end’ NATO. Does NATO have any plan to deal with an ally-on-ally attack? Which side would the UK take if it happened? Or is it all just about Trump’s “art of the deal”? Former UK ambassador to NATO Lord Ricketts shares his insights. The US was said to have finally offered a security backstop for Ukraine when the UK and France formally signed-off their intent to put boots on the ground for any peace deal. But when you look at the detail, is there anything actually new there? And why did a fleet of US special-operations aircraft fly into the UK this week? Was it just for the seizure of an oil-tanker, might it have something to do with Iran, or is it all an attempt to distract from something else?

8 Jan

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44 min
18/09/2025

RAF Typhoons Head To Poland

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 talks to General Sir Nick Parker, former deputy commander of ISAF, about how intertwined UK forces are with US ones. And as world events are brought directly to our mobile devices Sitrep speaks to the author of a book looking at how the military must adapt to fighting wars with the smartphone. Kate Gerbeau presents, with expert analysis from Dr Karin von Hippel.

18/09/2025

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36 min
18/12/2025

The Sitrep Crystal Ball 2026

Could hundreds or thousands of British troops be sent to Ukraine to support a peace plan in 2026? If there’s no deal how can Ukraine turn the tide of Russian gains? And where in the world might we see a new major conflict break out? Sitrep brings together some of the finest minds in defence to assess what the year ahead holds. Will Moldova suffer a stealth invasion of “little green men”? Would we intervene if it did? And have we taken the eye off the ball of global terrorist threats? The Chief of Defence Staff says none of us can tell what the “absolute risk” might be, but that “trends are clear”. Professor Micheal Clarke, Kate Gerbeau and friends explain where those trends are pointing

18/12/2025

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52 min
30/01/2025

Defence spending – how much is enough?

Donald Trump wants NATO members to spend 5% of their national income on Defence, the UK is years away from meeting half that target. Is 5% a realistic figure, given that we did it back in the cold war, or would that simply be spending money for the sake of it? Mike does some reality checking, and Kate talks to Labour MP Luke Akehurst who says the current UK ambition of 2.5% should “just be the start of the conversation”. One demand from some who want more spent on Defence is better protection from missiles. Claire Sadler explains the options, and how far we can or can’t defeat missiles. And after the right-royal row about the renaming of a submarine, from HMS Agincourt to HMS Achilles, we explain who chooses the names of Royal Navy vessels, and how.

30/01/2025

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41 min
12/06/2025

Increase defence spending or learn Russian, Nato chief tells UK

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 Relations. And the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group makes its way through the Red Sea – what next for this projection of UK military power? We get the thoughts of Commodore Steve Prest who was the Commander Weapon Engineer on Britain’s other carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth. He was also part of the top-level team that brought the QE out of build and into sea trials.

12/06/2025

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40 min
22/05/2025

The UK – EU defence partnership explained

Keir Starmer says it puts Britain back on the world stage. Some critics claim it could drag Britain into some kind of “EU army”. Sitrep explains what is, and isn’t, included in the new 62-point defence partnership agreement, and what it might mean for our Armed Forces. Amid intense scrutiny of past actions by UK Special Forces, and a former SAS commander’s warning about the “complete absence of a workable legal framework”, how can they be better held to public account while maintaining vital secrecy in their job to keep us safe? And a reshuffle of Britain’s top brass is underway. Mike talks us through the names in the frame, what they could bring to the jobs, and the challenges they’ll face.

22/05/2025

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45 min
25/09/2025

Gesture or shoot? How to intercept Russian planes in NATO skies

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 hoped to achieve with drones over Poland, and fighter jets in Estonian airspace. And after President Trump’s big U-turn any hope of Ukraine peace talks appears to be over, so Mike explains what both sides are planning for the next phase of the war.

25/09/2025

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42 min
26/06/2025

Cash vs Capability. 5% defence spending explained

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 Reaction Corps tells Sitrep why he’s sure that, behind the scenes, serious military figures have a firm grip on getting things done. And Sian Grzeszczyk-Melbourne gives us an insider’s take from The Hague, including the importance of seating plans and President Trump turning the tables on a Ukrainian journalist.

26/06/2025

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39 min
02/10/2025

Does taking risks win wars?

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 explain how their bond of secrecy could stand in the way of getting mental health help. And as the largest collection of Victoria Crosses is taken off display, to make way for other museum exhibits, retired Major General Tim Cross and historian Lucy Betteridge-Dyson discuss how best preserve the stories of gallantry behind these medals.

02/10/2025

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43 min
09/10/2025 · BONUS

EXTRA – The Rise and Fall of the British Army

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 Kate Gerbeau how it helped him join the dots to understand not only the successes and failures of given moments, but to see the whole arc and how that could help the Army rise again to face the next 50 years.

09/10/2025 · Bonus

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28 min

Looking for British military related content? We’re the experts. BFBS has been serving the British armed forces with audio content since 1943. Our podcasts tell incredible stories about military life, whether on or off the battlefield. We connect the British armed forces community wherever they are in the world, while keeping everyone up to date about defence.

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