BFBS Radio Sitrep

Two years since British troops left, and the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, millions of people are going hungry while women and girls have been stripped of basic rights.

The Chairman of the Commons Defence Committee says we need to stop ‘shouting from the sidelines’ and re-engage with the Taliban, but after posting a video from Helmand describing the country as ‘transformed’ he’s facing a no-confidence vote from his colleagues.

So how should the UK help? Indeed can it help?  Sitrep talks to former Afghan diplomat Nazifa Haqpal and retired Colonel Simon Diggins who was Defence Attaché in Kabul for two years.

Nazifa warns the Taliban is trying to radicalise the population, so Professor Michael Clarke explains the threat Afghanistan poses to the UK, and why we should care about ‘fixing it’.

Ukraine formed 12 brigades, each up to 5,000 soldiers strong, to take back territory from Russia. So far it’s only committed around a third of those forces.

Professor Michael Clarke and Forces News Ukraine reporter Simon Newton discuss the military logic, and whether the next phase of the counter-offensive has actually already started.

Is there a better way to handle complaints from members of the Armed Forces?

Germany’s Armed Forces Commissioner tells us how surprise visits and access-all-areas help her make a difference.

And is the pen really mightier than the sword? We explain the concept of ‘weaponised narratives’, how they’ve been used to overthrow governments, and ask whether words can do the same job as warfighting.

The pen, they say, is mightier than the sword, but how?

Words can be used as a weapon of war, and the right words used early enough might even save you from the many costs of kinetic operations.

That’s the argument put forward in a new book – ‘Subversion, the strategic weaponization of narratives’.

It’s author, Dr Andreas Krieg, tells us how weaponised narratives have been used to do things like overthrow governments, and change the world without a shot needing to be fired.

Ukraine’s President Zelensky says it’s ‘inevitable’ that war is returning to Russia, and two drone strikes on a Moscow skyscraper look like an attempt to prove the point.

Professor of Defence Studies Michael Clarke explains why he’s worried by this, and we assess whether it makes any strategic sense.

Ukraine is manufacturing, and using up, thousands of drones every month. Svitlana Morenets in Kyiv tells us about getting hands on with the ‘army of drones’ programme that is also training thousands of operators.

And British man Aiden Aslin, who went to fight Daesh in Syria and then joined Ukraine’s armed forces, tells us what motivated him to fight other people’s wars. 

The President of Belarus says Wagner fighters, exiled to his country, are ‘getting on our nerves’ and want ‘an excursion’ into Poland.

Sitrep examines whether this seriously threatens war between NATO and Russia, and we talk to Alicia Kearns MP about cross party warnings that Wagner is a direct threat to the UK.

The Prime Minister has apologised to LGBT veterans who were kicked out of the forces, stripped of medals, and in some cases imprisoned. We explain why has he said sorry when the rules were clear and legally binding at the time.

And 70 years since the end of fighting, why are North and South Korea still technically at war?

The UK’s ‘defence masterplan’ has been updated after just two years, because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Its conclusions are essentially to stick with the old plan, but it must be done faster and better. Despite being re-examined cuts of thousands of soldiers, and a third of the Army’s tanks, will stay.

Professor Michael Clarke explains the key points, what they’ll mean for the Armed Forces, and for their people.

We also assess whether the promises of faster and better modernisation can be delivered, with one of the military architects of the 2015 Defence Review.

As the Armed Forces struggle to recruit and retain the people and skills they need, a major review is recommending a radical rethink of British military life and careers.

The Haythornethwaite review found the forces need to do better at making their people feel valued.

It was commissioned by the Defence Secretary to study ‘incentivisation’ for servicemen and women.

Sitrep talks to the review’s military adviser, retired Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope, to ask whether flexible working can work for the forces, why the internet really matters to people, and whether pay should be based on skills rather than rank.

The old military saying goes ‘winning the war is easier than winning the peace’.

Sitrep explains what the NATO summit has and hasn’t done to prepare for the end of the war, with the help of Major General Tim Cross, who led the UK’s post-war efforts in Iraq.

The summit delivered security guarantees for Ukraine from some allies, including the UK, but no timetable for NATO membership. We assess whether it was a good or bad result for Ukraine.

And what about NATO’s own defence? We take a look at the new Regional Defence Plans, and ask if the UK can deliver what it’s promising.

Ukraine’s counter offensive is being held up, in part, by densely packed Russian minefields. Former tank commander Justin Crump explains how they avoid the explosives, and clear a path through.

Professor Michael Clarke tells us what progress Ukraine has made in the last month, and why a much bigger push looks imminent.

Sitrep’s James Wharton has had exclusive access to British troops on the ground in Iraq as part of Operation Shader, he explains how their role has changed over the last 9 years.

And former army intelligence officer Louise Jones gives us a guide to the Do’s & Don’ts of social media for forces personnel.

Some Eastern European countries have called on NATO to strengthen its eastern borders following recent events in Russia. 

This week Germany said it plans to keep 4000 troops permanently in Lithuania, once the infrastructure is in place.

Germany already leads a multi-national battlegroup in Lithuania, as the UK does in Estonia, as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence. What could Germany’s move mean for the rest of NATO?

Sitrep talks to the former Chief of the Defence Staff, General Lord Richards, about the planned deployment and about the strength of Russian forces in Ukraine.

And finally, Sitrep hears from a Hercules pilot as the aircraft makes its last RAF flight… 

The armed forces need to do better at making their people feel valued to deliver military capability.

So says a major review of ‘incentivisation’ for servicemen and women – we explain its recommendations including flexible careers, simpler allowances, and skills based pay.

The UK is the only NATO country to recruit 16 year olds into the forces, and a UN panel has renewed its call for the age to go up to 18. We ask a member of that panel why.

And the former captain of a Royal Navy submarine explains the options and limits for undersea rescue operations.

As the Armed Forces struggle to recruit and retain the people and skills they need, a major review is recommending a radical rethink of British military life and careers.

The Haythornethwaite review found the forces need to do better at making their people feel valued.

It was commissioned by the Defence Secretary to study ‘incentivisation’ for servicemen and women.

Sitrep talks to the review’s military adviser, retired Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope, to ask whether flexible working can work for the forces, why the internet really matters to people, and whether pay should be based on skills rather than rank.

The push to retake Ukrainian territory held by Russia has started modestly, but there is a bigger strategy behind it.

Michael Clarke explains how this is actually about stretching Russian forces, and Colin Freeman updates us from close to the front line.

Eleven British universities have been criticised for working with Iranian partners on technologies that could have military uses. Former tank-commander turned scientist Hamish de Bretton-Gordon tells us why he’s worried.

And we hear why British troops have been parking huge soviet-era air-defence vehicles in people’s gardens in Sweden.

Ukraine’s counter-offensive appears to be underway, bringing us a stream of contradictory claims and confusing headlines.

Professor Michael Clarke, and former intelligence officer Col. Philip Ingram, explain how we can make sense of it all in the midst of a disinformation war.

A top US Air Force officer has warned AI enabled drones could turn against their operators, and infrastructure, in pursuit of missions. We ask if artificial intelligence really could go rogue and threaten us all.

And Britain’s latest training effort for Ukraine – sharing support skills with their military chaplains. Chaplain General the Rev. Michael D Parker tells us why it really matters for the war effort.

9 years ago Ukraine’s northern neighbour, Belarus, vocally opposed Russia’s annexation of Crimea and was staunchly a non-nuclear state.

Now it’s host to Russian troops, and is just taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons. We explain the U-turn, and ask if it’s the start of a new ‘Soviet Union lite’?

NATO’s looking for a new leader, and the UK’s Defence Secretary is seen as one of several potential frontrunners. A former NATO insider explains how the whole process is a bit like appointing a new Pope. And we hear from Estonia – where British troops lead NATO deterrence – about the Baltic state’s latest threat assessment

With reports of an improvement in Russian battlefield tactics, that certainly could be the case. But, other intel suggests that the difficulties with enforcing discipline amongst junior ranks is actually worsening.

On this week’s Sitrep, Professor Michael Clarke will look at a new report which suggests Moscow has indeed, learned from its mistakes and is preparing a major Ukrainian offensive.

Also, as Russia changes tactics we’ll hear how high tech satellite imagery has become a vital tool for watching Russian forces in real time and discover who’s using that information.

As the RAF takes delivery of its latest...and last A400m transport plane, we’ll look at how it compares with the Hercules C130-J which it’s replacing.

And....it’s an exclusive club, but what’s it actually like being ejected from a fighter jet travelling at hundreds of miles an hour?....we’ll hear first hand from former RAF Navigator John Nichol. 

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’.