BFBS Sitrep

Under the sea, in charge of a multi-million pound boat, and the safety of your crew, there is a lot that can go very wrong.

Ryan Ramsay has lived it all, then trained his successors both in how to avoid those disasters, and to cope if they do strike.

In his new book ‘A View From Below’ he shares the inside story how submarine captains are trained, the impossible scenarios they’re faced with in a real sub, and stories of simulated emergency suddenly becoming the real thing.

He tells Kate Gerbeau why he turned those experiences into life-lessons that we can all use, what he learned from his most perilous moment in command of HMS Turbulent, and whether any of it helps him on the football pitch while refereeing.

Could more British troops be sent to Eastern Europe, or as peacekeepers in the Middle East? Will Donald Trump return to the White House, and would it guarantee defeat for Ukraine? And where in the world might the next war break out?

Kate Gerbeau and Professor Michael Clarke take on the big questions about what’s in store for our defence and security in 2024.

They hear from the UK’s top military officers, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, General Sir Patrick Sanders, Admiral Sir Ben Key and Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, who tell us what they’ll be working on in 2024.

And some of Sitrep’s expert guests from the last year share their thoughts to help explain what might happen in the next 12 months.

Could more British troops be sent to Eastern Europe, or as peacekeepers in the Middle East? Will Donald Trump return to the White House, and would it guarantee defeat for Ukraine? And where in the world might the next war break out?

Kate Gerbeau and Professor Michael Clarke take on the big questions about what’s in store for our defence and security in 2024.

They hear from the UK’s top military officers, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, General Sir Patrick Sanders, Admiral Sir Ben Key and Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, who tell us what they’ll be working on in 2024.

And some of Sitrep’s expert guests from the last year share their thoughts to help explain what might happen in the next 12 months.

The Defence Secretary has called the Army’s ban on beards for most soldiers “ridiculous and outdated”, as the Chief of General Staff reviews the rules.

Kate and Mike are joined by former Chief of Defence People, Lieutenant General James Swift, to discuss whether facial hair really matters to recruitment, discipline and operational effectiveness.

The next head of the Army has been named as General Sir Roly Walker, so Sitrep takes a look through his CV to see what experience he brings, and explains the challenges he’s taking on.

And we go into The Valley of Death with the Welsh Cavalry, on a unique desert exercise where unseen controllers keep changing the game to push troops to their very limits.

The Defence Secretary has called the Army’s ban on beards for most soldiers “ridiculous and outdated”, as the Chief of General Staff reviews the rules.

Kate and Mike are joined by former Chief of Defence People, Lieutenant General James Swift, to discuss whether facial hair really matters to recruitment, discipline and operational effectiveness.

The next head of the Army has been named as General Sir Roly Walker, so Sitrep takes a look through his CV to see what experience he brings, and explains the challenges he’s taking on.

And we go into The Valley of Death with the Welsh Cavalry, on a unique desert exercise where unseen controllers keep changing the game to push troops to their very limits.

HMS Diamond has been sent to the Red Sea after missile and drone attacks against British owned cargo vessels, and RAF spy-planes have been deployed to search for hostages held in Gaza.

Professor Michael Clarke and former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe explain what these assets and personnel can achieve, the limitations & risks of their missions, and the possibility of more UK military capability joining them.

Sitrep also looks at another big deployment much closer to home, a new Royal Navy task group trying to protect critical undersea power and data cables, alongside European allies.

And does military history repeat itself, or just rhyme? Kate talks to military historian Lucy Betteridge-Dyson, General Sir Mike Jackson and General Lord Richards about how the study of past conflicts shapes the wars of today.

HMS Diamond has been sent to the Red Sea after missile and drone attacks against British owned cargo vessels, and RAF spy-planes have been deployed to search for hostages held in Gaza.

Professor Michael Clarke and former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe explain what these assets and personnel can achieve, the limitations & risks of their missions, and the possibility of more UK military capability joining them.

Sitrep also looks at another big deployment much closer to home, a new Royal Navy task group trying to protect critical undersea power and data cables, alongside European allies.

And does military history repeat itself, or just rhyme? Kate talks to military historian Lucy Betteridge-Dyson, General Sir Mike Jackson and General Lord Richards about how the study of past conflicts shapes the wars of today.

Sitrep’s Simon Newton has just returned from Ukraine - he reports for Sitrep from a drone testing centre where new models are trialled before being used in combat.

Sitrep also hears from the former Champion Boxer, and now Mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, on his country’s will to resist.

Also on Sitrep, as tensions remain high in the Middle East, Britain deploys a Type 45 Destroyer HMS Diamond to the Gulf and America sends the USS Eisenhower through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Sitrep looks at how Aircraft carriers are used to deploy both hard and soft power and hears from the Commanding Officer of the UK’s biggest warship HMS Prince of Wales.

Sitrep’s Simon Newton has just returned from Ukraine - he reports for Sitrep from a drone testing centre where new models are trialled before being used in combat.

Sitrep also hears from the former Champion Boxer, and now Mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, on his country’s will to resist.

Also on Sitrep, as tensions remain high in the Middle East, Britain deploys a Type 45 Destroyer HMS Diamond to the Gulf and America sends the USS Eisenhower through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Sitrep looks at how Aircraft carriers are used to deploy both hard and soft power and hears from the Commanding Officer of the UK’s biggest warship HMS Prince of Wales.

As winter sweeps across Ukraine the ideal window for its counter-offensive is now closed, with seemingly minimal gains from five months of hard fighting.

 So what happens next? Sitrep assesses whether Ukraine has another chance for a significant fightback next year, and if so how it could do that.

Professor Michael Clarke, Ukrainian researcher Mariia Zolkina, and former infantry officer Ed Arnold discuss the military options, and we hear from Kyiv about the mood there.

And we get an insight into one of Britain’s newest military units, the National Cyber Force, from Lieutenant General Tom Copinger-Symes who oversees their defensive and offensive operations.