BFBS Radio Sitrep

John Nichol’s life was saved by explosives attached to his seat. In 1991 he ejected from a burning RAF Tornado jet, along with pilot John Peters, saving their lives but also leading to their capture by Iraqi forces. In a new book, ‘Eject! Eject!’, John Nichol charts the history of the ejection seat and shares the stories of how it has both saved and changed thousands of people’s lives. He tells Kate Gerbeau what it’s like to be thrown out of plane at 600 miles per hour, how a terrifying 30-second manual process now happens automatically in the blink of an eye, and why ejecting is just the start of the story

It looks the Ukraine war is at a tipping point, with a counter-offensive imminent, which would take the war into a significant new phase.

Professor Michael Clarke explains how a cat-and-mouse game is already underway along hundreds of miles of front line, and do fresh western weaponry promises deliver what President Zelensky said he was waiting for?

Russia’s returned to bombarding Kyiv every 48 hours, journalist Iryna Sysak tells Sitrep what it’s like to be back living under regular attack.

Plus the war of words between the Wagner group and Russia’s ministry of Defence. Where do the mercenary army’s loyalties really lie?  

Artificial Intelligence seems to be coming of age, but some of its pioneers are warning AI could soon get out of control.

On Sitrep we explain how Britain’s armed forces are already using Artificial Intelligence, and Steve Meers from the AI Lab at DSTL tells us what he’s working on to help servicemen and women in the future.

Major Sam McEvoy of the Royal Corps of Signals was involved in the Army’s first operational deployment of AI. He tells us the genie is out of the bottle, and while AI won’t replace humans, people who use AI will replace the ones that don’t.

Professor Michael Clarke helps us understand the military up and downsides of AI, and an adviser to the Ministry of Defence talks us through the ethical dilemmas of Artificial Intelligence. 

The coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla includes the UK Armed Forces’ biggest ceremony for 70 years.

On Sitrep we look at the plans, the rehearsals, and hear from a veteran of the Grenadier Guards about the kind of personal preparations required of 7000 servicemen and women.

Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Putin in a small-drone

strike on the Kremlin. Ukraine firmly denies any part.

Professor Michael Clarke explains why it would be ‘monumentally stupid’ were Ukraine to have been involved in this ‘firework stunt’.

Sitrep hears from someone who played a key part in the journey of King Charles III to his role as commander in chief of the UK’s armed forces.

Most of the King’s five years as a serviceman were spent as a pilot, but before he stepped into uniform to fly jets and helicopters he learned to fly a twin-seat single-propellor Chipmunk plane.

His instructor was a young Flight Lieutenant, Philip Pinney, who tells James Wharton his story training future King to fly, preparing Charles for hands on military service.

Sitrep gets the inside stories from some of the UK’s biggest military decisions of recent years, as we examine the art and politics of command.

Former Chief of the Defence Staff, General Lord Richards, explains how he once told David Cameron ‘a term in the cadet force doesn’t qualify you to do my job’, but still had a good working relationship with the PM.

And former Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, reveals how at the start of Operation Shader he had to personally authorise air-strikes, including decisions on which weapons would be used.

Kate Gerbeau also talk to Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman about his book “Command” which analyses the politics of war, and Professor Michael Clarke explains how those lessons apply to military operations happening right now.

Russia has sent a fleet of ships, pretending to be fishing trawlers, to size up our wind farms and power cables for possible attacks according to a new documentary.

Professor Michael Clarke explains how the UK is already ramping up its military capabilities to track and deter this kind of Russian activity.

An Iraq veteran gives us his verdict on the new book ‘How To Fight a War’ – and its author Dr Mike Martin explains why he thinks lethal violence is just communication your enemy can’t ignore. 

And we scroll through the new interactive map which shows where British forces are most busy in Europe, and the different defence ties we have with our near neighbours.

Do tanks trump technology? Do missiles matter more than manpower? And can the better thinker beat the stronger fighter?

Dr Mike Martin’s new book ‘How To Fight A War’ argues that psychology is the key, and that war is as at least as much a conversation as it is a physical battle.

The head of the Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, has called the book ‘essential reading’.

Dr Martin explains his key principles which could decide victory, or defeat, and former soldier James Wharton gives us his thoughts on whether it all stacks up, based on his experiences of fighting in Iraq.

Sitrep looks behind the headlines of a huge leak of top secret US documents, including on suggesting 50 British special forces troops have been on the ground in Ukraine.

Professor Michael Clarke will assess the damage from the leaks, and explain the official ‘health warnings’ on what’s been revealed.

Ukraine doesn’t just want western fighter jets, it also wants veteran fighter pilots to join its fight. Decorated US Lt Colonel Dan ‘Two Dogs’ Hampton tells us why he wants to sign up.

And we assess America’s new military foothold in Asia, because ‘China has scared the living daylights’ out of the Philippines.

Air Marshal Richard Knighton has been named as the new Chief of Air Staff. We talk to one of his predecessors, Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford, about what the job involves, the challenges ahead, and what AM Knighton’s leadership will mean for the men and women of the RAF.

The NATO/Russia border has just doubled in length as Finland joins the alliance. Will it be a burden or heavy lifter in NATO, and why is Britain already seen as Finland’s mentor?

And Royal Marines have, very quietly, deployed on exercise in South Korea for the first time since the war there. We explain why the country is building up military ties with Britain and Europe.

It’s spring but there’s no sign yet of the ‘spring offensives’ promised by both sides in Ukraine. They are quietly preparing though.

Professor Michael Clarke explains the big movements of Russia’s best troops, and some psychological warfare by Kyiv.

A senior officer tells fellow servicewomen they must report sex attacks to police. We ask why some are still not coming forward despite an overhaul of investigations.

And three years on from Brexit, Britain holds talks about new defence ties with the EU. Is it just about repairing a broken friendship or could it benefit the UK’s Armed Forces? 

Exactly 20 years ago more than 40,000 British troops were deployed on Operation Telic, to invade Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction which did not exist.

The legacy of that invasion is complicated, and Sitrep explains how it’s shaped the British Armed Forces of today.

General Lord Dannatt, former Chief of General Staff, tells us how it made us more risk-averse, but developed leadership skills that remain in today’s servicemen and women.

Plus decorated bomb disposal operator Chris Hunter tells us why he’s now living in the country where he was shot, and is still working to make it a safer place.

Chris Hunter is a decorated high-threat bomb disposal operator. He had been in Iraq, on operation Telic, for just four days when he was shot in an ambush.

Two decades later he lives in the country that nearly claimed his life and works for a charity clearing explosives left by the Islamic State terror group.

He tells Kate Gerbeau how he now has friends who may have tried to kill him years ago, what life is like in Iraq 20 years after the invasion, and what motivates him to stay for as long as he can.

The Chancellor has promised another 11 billion pounds for Defence over the next five years, but after soaring inflation and big donations to Ukraine how much extra is left over?

Professor of Defence Studies Michael explains what it means for the spending power of Defence, and what it might mean for the future of British Forces as a new masterplan for their size and shape is drawn up.

We also take a closer look at the next generation of Royal Navy attack submarines, which will take up more than a quarter of the new cash.

Just days after the Ministry of Defence launched its own TikTok channel the Chinese owned app has been banned from government devices. A former army intelligence officer explains the risks.

Ukrainian troops are having to risk their lives, crossing icy waters, to defend small islands used for little more than holiday homes.

We hear why these small marshy patches of land are strategically crucial to protecting Ukraine’s biggest gain so far in the war, while Professor Michael Clarke explains the latest developments across the country.

The UK’s creating a new Arctic operations base, and Sitrep reporter Briohny Williams tells us exactly what it’s like to be there for training and exercises.

Sarah Louise Miller shares the story of thousands of women who overcame huge resistance to become key players in British military intelligence during World War 2.

The World War 2 RAF pilots, dubbed ‘The Few’ by Winston Churchill, could not have achieved all that they did without the support of a huge intelligence operation.

But as more and more men had to go to the front, that intelligence work was increasingly taken on by women, despite huge initial resistance and scepticism from military leaders.

Sarah Louise Miller tells us their story, researched in new detail for her book ‘The Women Behind The Few’

And at an event marking International Women’s Day, some of those veterans have told us what life was like as they laid the groundwork for today’s women to serve in frontline combat. 

The Army’s modernisation masterplan relies on Ajax, a new armoured vehicle that is already 6 years late, and has injured some troops with noise and vibration.

As the Defence Secretary says that’s all been solved, Professor Michael Clarke explains why Ajax is so important and we talk to Conservative MP Mark Francois about why he wants to hear from troops involved in the Ajax trials.

Also this week – China’s produced a peace plan for the Ukraine war, but what outcome does it really want?

And we hear from two RAF Typhoon pilots about what it was like patrolling the skies of Qatar to keep the World Cup safe.

Ukrainian journalist Maryana Drach tells Sitrep her experiences of living through a year of war in her country.

The loss of her friend and colleague, Vira Hyrych, in a missile strike on an apartment block, witnessing destruction in her home city, and her team’s drive to expose atrocities.

She also tells us about the latest assessments of public opinion in Ukraine, her thoughts on how the war may end, and why she believes Ukrainians are maintaining their resolve.

Maryana Drach is Director of the Ukrainian service at Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.  

12 months on from Russia’s full scale invasion Sitrep assesses how Ukraine defied predictions that it would lose in days – and instead pushed back Moscow’s forces.

Three experienced British military minds explain who’s got what right, and wrong, and the lessons the UK should learn from all this. 

Daily Telegraph correspondent Colin Freeman tells us what the battlefield picture looks like going into year two, as Ukrainian forces face ‘zombie waves’ of Russian troops.

And Ukrainian journalist Maryana Drach shares personal testimony of her country’s losses, alongside the resolve of its people.

After three more mystery objects were found flying over North America and shot down, the Defence Secretary has ordered a security review of British Airspace.

Have they already flown over us, and have we been looking for them? Sitrep asks a former RAF Operations Commander.

Hundreds of British troops are helping to defend Estonia, a country that has sent its entire Howitzer artillery stock to Ukraine. We hear from soldiers on exercise and Estonia’s Defence Minister.

Plus we explain whether Russia has begun its new offensive, and examine how long NATO nations can keep supplying vital military aid to Ukraine.