BFBS Sitrep

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)

Sitrep goes on board a Royal Navy P2000 patrol boat, on exercise Tamber Shield, off the coast of Norway.David Sivills-McCann gives us an insight into the action, and Professor Michael Clarke explains why these boats, some of the smallest Royal Navy vessels, are key to defending the UK.A prototype of the RAF’s next generation fighter jet, Tempest, is expected to fly in just three years time. Air Commodore Martin Lowe, who leads the programme for the RAF, tells us how the journey from concept to reality is going.And the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace & Security, Irene Fellin, tells Sitrep how the new Allied Reaction Force must not just be ready to fight, but also to protect civilians.

Tempest will be the RAF’s next generation fighter jet, and the heart of the new Future Combat Air System.After a decade of conceptual development work is now underway to turn it into reality, with a first prototype due to fly in around 3 years.Will it really be equipped with laser weapons or brain scanners in the pilot’s helmet? That’s still secret, but Sitrep has been told the much of the initial design is now locked down.Air Commodore Martin Lowe talks us through the progress so far, and tackles the tough question of whether it can truly be delivered on time and on budget ready for service in little more than a decade.

Rishi Sunak has pledged tens of billions of pounds to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030, but how much will it improve our military capability?Professor Michael Clarke explains why the extra cash will probably be used to firm up our forces rather than making them bigger, and we fact check how much of the £75bn figure given by the Prime Minister is actually new money.Months after US military supplies to Ukraine effectively dried up the Washington deadlock is broken. But what will the new $60bn package deliver, when, and how much difference can it make to the war?And we hear from the London Defence Tech Hackathon where coders, engineers, and businesses had a direct line to Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield as they tried some rapid problem solving for the troops.

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.