VE Day - How did the allies win, and what are the lessons 80 years on?
Britain and its allies fought Nazi Germany for a gruelling four and a half years in all, but once allied ground troops landed in Europe, creating the Western Front, they completed the victory in just eleven months.Kate and Mike are joined by Dr Meghan Kellegher from the RAF Museum to explain the strategy which led to victory, and what the allies got wrong as well as right.VE Day wasn’t the end of World War Two. Military historian Lucy Betteridge-Dyson tells us how thousands of British troops, including her grandfather, still faced months of fierce fighting in Burma, and were still deployed two years later.And after Ukrainian troops joined UK commemorations of VE day, we ask whether the conflicts raging today could become the catalyst for a third global war, and how that risk can be minimised.
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37:22
Will India and Pakistan go to war, and who would win?
Pakistan and India have already fought two wars over disputed Kashmir, now after a terror attack that killed 26 tourists spiralling tensions have brought warnings another war could be imminent.South Asia expert Dr Walter Ladwig tells us why some kind of clash seems inevitable, as Sitrep compares military capabilities and past conflicts to explain who’s most likely to come out on top.The RAF has launched against Houthi militants in Yemen for the first time in nearly a year. So why now? Professor Michael Clarke explains all.And could AI predict the time and place of the world’s next big conflict? Defence AI expert Anna Knack and former CIA analyst Dr. Nandita Balakrishnan tell us how and when it could become reality.
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EXTRA – First hand: How Trump’s diplomatic storm is impacting Ukraine
Former Conservative MP Jack Lopresti joined Ukraine’s foreign legion, in November 2024, to share his insights and experience of procurement and diplomacy.Those skills have become all the more important since the diplomatic earthquakes of Donald Trump’s presidency, including a temporary halt to American weapons, ammunition and intelligence for Ukraine.Mr Lopresti tells Sitrep about the impact on the military fight, the effect on morale, and why he still firmly believes Ukraine is not losing.
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The military drone revolution explained
Drones have come of age in Ukraine, ruling the battlefield and overtaking artillery as the leading cause of casualties.Kate and Mike are joined by RAF veteran Dr Keith Dear to explain how small devices once designed for consumers are now not only flying spies, but also lethal weapons that have radically changed the way land battles are fought.Ukrainian drone-experts are reported to be training British troops as part of Operation Interflex. So what can we learn from their experiences, and can we be sure that drones will still be as relevant in the next war?And the founder of SYOS aerospace, which will supply £30m worth of drones to Ukraine, explains how drone-boat technology is evolving and has helped Ukraine neutralise Russia’s black sea fleet.
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Will fighting end the Ukraine war before diplomacy?
The death and destruction in Ukraine has only intensified in the two months since Donald Trump unilaterally announced peace talks, and the one month since Ukraine offered a 30-day ceasefire.With diplomacy having delivered nothing so far Sitrep explains how the war has played out in that time, who has the battlefield momentum, and the potential paths ahead.Equipment is key to Ukraine’s chances but a leaked German assessment says high-end tanks, like the Leopard 2, sometimes cause problems rather than providing capability.Former British tank-commander Hamish de Bretton-Gordon explains why, what lessons the UK should take from this, and which tank he’d want to be in if he were in Ukraine.
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