BFBS Sitrep

Three decades since the end of the troubles the legacy on Northern Ireland is affecting today’s Armed Forces, with growing talk it’s damaging recruitment and driving some to leave service.The Northern Ireland Secretary promised additional protections for veterans to help as the save his legacy bill from running out of parliamentary time, but it remains hugely divisive.Sitrep explains the complexities of laying the past to rest in way that could satisfy all, and asks one veteran why he favours an end to prosecutions over courtroom justice for victims and families, including hundreds of soldiers. And as HMS Victory has its masts carefully removed in a painstaking operation we talk to the man charged with preserving this icon of British military history.  

When they still don’t know what equipment they will get, and when, it’s extremely hard for  the UK’s Armed Forces deliver on their mission to be ready for war. But the clock is ticking ever louder, so how long have they got?Professor Michael Clarke and Dr. Jack Watling explain the types of conflict that could lie ahead, when they could happen, and what we need to be ready for those risks.And as the Chief of Defence Staff reveals a new national War Book is being written, to plan for the worst case scenario, Sitrep hears from someone who had access to this highly secret document during the Cold War.

The UK’s defence plans have relied, for decades, on the assumption that America will help us in a crisis.  But we can’t assume that any more, so what are those plans worth now?Sitrep explains the findings of MPs and Peers who say we must end our “deep dependence” on the US, for everything from software updates for planes to nuclear capable missiles.Former National Security adviser Lord Ricketts tells Kate Gerbeau where the biggest risks are, and how long it could take to cut UK military dependence on the US.And as President Trump threatens, again, to pull the US out of NATO former MoD official Matthew Savill explains why a “quiet quitting” by the US is more likely and just how exposed it could still leave us.

Tens-of-thousands of Ukrainian troops have been trained in the UK on Operation Interflex, but Ukraine says our trainers now lack “modern combat experience”, and that the lessons would be more effective delivered at home.Simon Newton explains the practical considerations and why this will be an evolution of Op. Interflex, not end to it.Also on Sitrep a senior Army officer blames failures to correctly operate and maintain Ajax armoured vehicles for more than 30 soldiers falling ill on exercise. Former tank commander Hamish de Bretton-Gordon explains how regular checks of tracks, and a new automatic tension system might finally solve the vibration problems.  

The UK ramped up its air power in and around the Middle East before the Iran war, but the fact it took nearly a fortnight to deploy an air-defence destroyer has put military capability and readiness firmly in the spotlight.Sitrep explains the rhetoric and the reality as political opponents accuse the Prime Minister of failing to prepare and sitting on his hands.Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, who helped write the Chilcot Report into the Iraq war, tells Sitrep why he thinks the US operation is “stunningly irresponsible”, and the UK got it right by staying on the sidelines. And Mike explains how warnings about the just how thinly spread the Armed Forces are now being seen in action.

As Ukraine fights its war for survival alone on the battlefield, the UK has announced new sanctions against Russia to throttle the supply of money into Putin's war machine.But can it work, and persuade Moscow to get serious about peace talks? Economist and Russia expert Timothy Ash runs us through the numbers.Defence Minister Luke Pollard tells Sitrep the UK is considering “further tactics” against Russia’s shadow fleet transporting sanctioned oil.  Mike explains why he doesn’t expect to see Royal Marines roping onto tankers any time soon. And Simon Newton has been looking through combat videos from Ukraine, with former Paras Major Andrew Fox, to assess lessons from four years of the most filmed war in history.

The Prime Minister chose a stage in front of dozens of fellow world leaders to announce he’s sending HMS Prince of Wales to lead a carrier strike group to the arctic. But why?The US changed it’s tone towards Europe, but not it’s criticisms, after last year’s bombshell speech by J.D. Vance.And President Zelensky told the world that Ukraine will only accept a “real” peace.Simon Newton and Professor Michael Clarke explain what we’ve learned, and what if anything has been achieved, at this key event for Defence.They break down the key moments, and what they mean, with the help of Lt. Gen (retd) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General US Army Europe, and Oana Lungescu who spent 13 years at the heart of NATO.

Despite temperatures below -20C attacks are targeting not just electricity and gas infrastructure in Ukraine, but heating plants which supply thousands of homes at a time.Is there any military logic or justification? Colin Freeman updates us from the city of Kharkiv, and Simon Newton explains how the extreme cold affects everything from drone batteries to the targeting of artillery shells.As the final nuclear-arms-control treaty between Russia and the US expires, Professor Michael Clarke explains why Britain’s nuclear deterrent has just become more important.And after a doubling of drone-sightings near UK military bases will new powers for the Armed Forces to shoot them down be the solution, or is that too low-tech?

Donald Trump crossed a line by threatening economic warfare against the UK and other allies. He may have backed down, for now, but former Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace says we should be preparing for the potential of the US turning its back on NATO. From nuclear missiles, to fighter jets and spare parts Professor Michael Clarke and Matthew Savill, a former policy chief in the MoD, explain our Armed Forces’ dependence on the US and how it could be de-risked. It also raises yet more questions about US commitment to back any Ukraine peace plan. Sitrep shares the latest from the battlefield, and hears from Ukrainian soldiers buying kit from a new Amazon-style online store, with incentive programmes to shape and monitor how they fight.

In his 22 year army career Ash Alexander-Cooper was shot multiple times, targeted by a suicide bomber, and caught in numerous explosions.  But he has taken those traumatic moments, learnt from them, and now uses those experiences to help others with leadership and resilience.Now he’s teamed up with leading neuropsychologist Dr Jessica Miller for a new book, “Mindful Soldier”, which tells the stories of Ash’s experiences and  explains the science of how our brains manage such extreme moments.They tell Kate Gerbeau how we can all use techniques, from squaddie humour to “helicopter view”, to adapt and thrive when we face life’s challenges.(Author profits from Mindful Soldier will support the Royal British Veterans Enterprise charity, and the Gurkha Welfare Trust.  It is available from their stores at https://rbveshop.org/products/mindful-soldier-ash-alexander-cooper and https://www.gwt.org.uk/ )

It’s seven years since the jihadists’ caliphate was brought to a complete end, but IS continues to attack in Syria and there are signs of a potential resurgence.The RAF and French Air Force have just bombed what they believe was an underground weapons and explosives store.Yet the US led coalition against IS, including the UK’s Operation Shader, is supposed to be winding down in 2026.Dr. Charlie Winter, chief research officer of the intelligence platform ExTrac, explains how the fall of President Assad has allowed IS a year of rebuilding, and why the US and UK should not take their eyes off the ball.

President Trump’s “America First” agenda has now been translated into an official security strategy with Europe at the bottom of the list.Will that mean big moves of US military capability away from Europe in 2026, even as war rages in Ukraine?How should the rest of NATO adapt, and how will Russia respond?Retired US Lieutenant General Ben Hodges explains the picture right now, and how it could change over the next year.

Britain’s Armed Forces go into 2026 with two big missions, become war-ready and transform for a high-tech future.There’s also the possibility of being deployed to Ukraine, if and when the fighting ends, and as always responding to unexpected events.Retired General Sir Richard Barrons, one of the authors of the Strategic Defence Review, explains the tasks, challenges, and events that will face servicemen and women in 2026.