BFBS Sitrep

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Defence Procurement minister James Cartlidge tells Sitrep the history of armed forces having “kit that let them down” keeps him awake at night. But he has a plan to fix the problems.

He tells Kate Gerbeau about the changes aimed at delivering equipment on time, and on budget, while Professor Michael Clarke assesses whether it will give troops what they need, when they need it.

We also look up close at one of those big procurement projects, as Sitrep’s David Sivills-McCann visits the under-construction Type 26 frigate HMS Cardiff.

Israel has sacked two officers over the air-strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, which it calls a ‘grave accident’. Sitrep explains the process of ‘deconfliction’ that should have prevented it from happening. 

Defence Procurement minister James Cartlidge tells Sitrep the history of armed forces having “kit that let them down” keeps him awake at night. But he has a plan to fix the problems.

He tells Kate Gerbeau about the changes aimed at delivering equipment on time, and on budget, while Professor Michael Clarke assesses whether it will give troops what they need, when they need it.

We also look up close at one of those big procurement projects, as Sitrep’s David Sivills-McCann visits the under-construction Type 26 frigate HMS Cardiff.

Israel has sacked two officers over the air-strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, which it calls a ‘grave accident’. Sitrep explains the process of ‘deconfliction’ that should have prevented it from happening.