BFBS Sitrep

The UK ramped up its air power in and around the Middle East before the Iran war, but the fact it took nearly a fortnight to deploy an air-defence destroyer has put military capability and readiness firmly in the spotlight.
Sitrep explains the rhetoric and the reality as political opponents accuse the Prime Minister of failing to prepare and sitting on his hands.
Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, who helped write the Chilcot Report into the Iraq war, tells Sitrep why he thinks the US operation is “stunningly irresponsible”, and the UK got it right by staying on the sidelines.
And Mike explains how warnings about the just how thinly spread the Armed Forces are now being seen in action.

The Royal Navy deploys a destroyer to the Mediterranean to bolster defences in the region, amidst a war in the Middle East.
But HMS Dragon won’t set sail until next week and it will take days to get there.
The question on most observers' lips is - why did it take so long? and is our response a bit late and a bit underwhelming?
Also on Sitrep …. What are the 6 crises predicted to converge, making it the most unstable global time since the second world war?

As Ukraine fights its war for survival alone on the battlefield, the UK has announced new sanctions against Russia to throttle the supply of money into Putin's war machine.
But can it work, and persuade Moscow to get serious about peace talks? Economist and Russia expert Timothy Ash runs us through the numbers.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard tells Sitrep the UK is considering “further tactics” against Russia’s shadow fleet transporting sanctioned oil. Mike explains why he doesn’t expect to see Royal Marines roping onto tankers any time soon.
And Simon Newton has been looking through combat videos from Ukraine, with former Paras Major Andrew Fox, to assess lessons from four years of the most filmed war in history.

The Prime Minister says we are going to have to spend more, faster, on defence. But his government hasn’t even decided how it will spend the money already in the budget, despite promising the plan months ago.
Sitrep explains why the growing delays are a big problem for some defence firms, and therefore the Armed Forces they supply, as the ADS trade body tells us small business liquidations are at a 30-year high.
Sian Grzeszczyk Melbourne shares the Westminster whispers on when these vital decisions could finally be taken, and whether any more money could be found.
And Mike explains what US Forces are being massed around Iran, plus what that tells us about any military action that might happen.

The Prime Minister chose a stage in front of dozens of fellow world leaders to announce he’s sending HMS Prince of Wales to lead a carrier strike group to the arctic. But why?
The US changed it’s tone towards Europe, but not it’s criticisms, after last year’s bombshell speech by J.D. Vance.
And President Zelensky told the world that Ukraine will only accept a “real” peace.
Simon Newton and Professor Michael Clarke explain what we’ve learned, and what if anything has been achieved, at this key event for Defence.
They break down the key moments, and what they mean, with the help of Lt. Gen (retd) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General US Army Europe, and Oana Lungescu who spent 13 years at the heart of NATO.