BFBS Radio Sitrep BFBS
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Award winning Sitrep brings you discussion and analysis on defence, foreign policy and the stories affecting the British Forces.
Presented by Kate Gerbeau, with expert analysis from Professor Michael Clarke.
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Inside the Navy’s ‘999 centre’ for the Red Sea
Emergency calls from any vessel under attack in the Red Sea are handled thousands of miles away, in Portsmouth, by a Royal Navy supported control centre.
Sitrep’s Tim Cooper is one of the first ever journalists to visit the UKMTO, where calls have soared by 475% as missile and drone attacks from Yemen are launched on average once every two days.
Also on Sitrep, after the Defence Secretary’s plane had its navigation system jammed by Russia, we explain the risks from electronic warfare and what we can do about them.
And the Army’s teamed up with McLaren to learn from Formula 1 electric vehicle technology. We ask former Defence Sustainability adviser Lieutenant General Richard Nugee whether electric vehicles really could rule the battlefield. -
Wargaming to win
Wargaming is about as old as war itself, but in a time many describe as “pre-war” how can it help us be ready for the worst, if it happens?
Sitrep talks to the UK’s Assistant Head of Defence Wargaming, Captain Eugene Morgan, who’s charged with building British wargaming capacity and capability “to make better decisions for defence”
He explains how it’s already used, and what the future may hold, while former US Army soldier Anna Nettleship shares wargaming stories from her new career as a leading researcher in the field.
Plus Sitrep’s James Hirst tries his hand at some simple wargaming with students at Kings College London. -
Germany’s embarrassing leak – could it happen to us too?
Russia has published the recording of a meeting between senior German air-force officers, revealing military and political secrets about British, French and German support to Ukraine.
Former Army intelligence officer Colonel Philip Ingram tells Sitrep it comes down to people being the weakest link, and that we shouldn’t dismiss it as “just a German problem”.
United Nations peacekeeping troops have now been in Cyprus for 60 years. Professor Michael Clarke explains why hundreds of British soldiers still serve on that operation, while Sitrep’s Sofie Cacoyannis takes her father back to where he lived when the peacekeepers arrived.
And we talk to Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman about her journey to becoming the world’s only female Chief of Defence Staff and the Jamaica Defence Force’s close ties with the UK. -
Extra – The world’s only female Chief of Defence Staff
Every single country in the world allows women to serve in at least some military roles, but only one has a woman at the very top of its Armed Forces.
Jamaica’s Chief of Defence Staff, Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman, was appointed in 2022 and is only the second woman in history to hold such a role (Slovenia appointed a female chief of defence for two years in 2018).
Rear Admiral Wemyss-Gorman talks to Kate Gerbeau about her rise through the ranks across three decades, how male military leaders around the world react to her, and how the UK can learn from her approach to changing culture.
She also shares memories of her officer training at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth (cold apparently), and the value she places on the Jamaica Defence Force’s close ties with the UK. -
Wargames under the waves
Six NATO submarines, accompanied by ships and aircraft, are playing a giant military game of hide and seek in the Mediterranean.
NATO’s Commander Submarines, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas Wall, tells us more about exercise Dynamic Manta, and Sitrep’s Claire Sadler explains what life is like onboard one of those subs.
Vladimir Putin claims Russia now has the initiative in the Ukraine war – is he right? Professor Michael Clarke and Simon Newton explain the current battlefield picture, and Colin Freeman gives a first-hand account from one of Russia’s next targets.
And why do so many British people say they would refuse to fight for their country, despite most believing war is a real possibility within the next decade. Matt Smith from YouGov talks us through their latest research. -
Getting UK arms to Ukraine
Britain has spent seven billion pounds over the last two years, equipping Ukraine’s armed forces to help keep them in the fight against Russia.
On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion Sitrep talks to Major General Anna-Lee Reilly and Andy Start from Defence Equipment and Support about how that’s been done, and what lies ahead.
Denmark’s decided to give its entire artillery stock to Ukraine and appealed to others to do the same. Professor Michael Clarke explains the pros and cons.
And thousands of people are asking the government to rethink its New Accommodation Offer for the forces. Sitrep explains the plan to “modernise eligibility” for service family accommodation, and why there are losers as well as winners.
Customer Reviews
Excellent programme, shame about the podcast
The Sitrep programme is excellent and I look forward to the weekly instalments as one of the highlights of my podcasting week. However, the podcast is sometimes a repeat of a previous episode or, in a recent case, a two-minute news flash rather than the programme advertised. Why does no one check this before release?
For example, 13 June 2019 episode has people talking about leaving the EU on 29 March. This is presumably a repeat of an old episode, rather than the one advertised? It’s been a couple of weeks since I heard a genuine new episode now.