BFBS Sitrep

Donald Trump crossed a line by threatening economic warfare against the UK and other allies. He may have backed down, for now, but former Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace says we should be preparing for the potential of the US turning its back on NATO.

From nuclear missiles, to fighter jets and spare parts Professor Michael Clarke and Matthew Savill, a former policy chief in the MoD, explain our Armed Forces’ dependence on the US and how it could be de-risked.

It also raises yet more questions about US commitment to back any Ukraine peace plan.

Sitrep shares the latest from the battlefield, and hears from Ukrainian soldiers buying kit from a new Amazon-style online store, with incentive programmes to shape and monitor how they fight.

The Chief of Defence Staff refuses to say cuts are coming, but has confirmed there isn’t enough money for everything they want to do to make the Armed Forces war-ready and transformed for a high-tech future.
Professor Michael Clarke and former RAF Deputy Director of Operations Greg Bagwell explain the “hard choices” once again facing defence, with the vital Defence Investment Plan still not ready.
We’ve also learned that there isn’t a national defence plan for the event of war, but one is being worked on. Sian Grzeszczyk Melbourne explains why new rules making it easier to call up veterans are a key part of that.
And Alex Baker MP tells Kate Gerbeau why she’s lobbying for a new Defence Investment and Resilience bank, and how she thinks it could ease the money worries.

In his 22 year army career Ash Alexander-Cooper was shot multiple times, targeted by a suicide bomber, and caught in numerous explosions.
But he has taken those traumatic moments, learnt from them, and now uses those experiences to help others with leadership and resilience.
Now he’s teamed up with leading neuropsychologist Dr Jessica Miller for a new book, “Mindful Soldier”, which tells the stories of Ash’s experiences and explains the science of how our brains manage such extreme moments.
They tell Kate Gerbeau how we can all use techniques, from squaddie humour to “helicopter view”, to adapt and thrive when we face life’s challenges.
(Author profits from Mindful Soldier will support the Royal British Veterans Enterprise charity, and the Gurkha Welfare Trust. It is available from their stores at https://rbveshop.org/products/mindful-soldier-ash-alexander-cooper and
https://www.gwt.org.uk/ )

Denmark says US threats to take Greenland by force would ‘end’ NATO.
Does NATO have any plan to deal with an ally-on-ally attack? Which side would the UK take if it happened? Or is it all just about Trump’s “art of the deal”? Former UK ambassador to NATO Lord Ricketts shares his insights.
The US was said to have finally offered a security backstop for Ukraine when the UK and France formally signed-off their intent to put boots on the ground for any peace deal. But when you look at the detail, is there anything actually new there?
And why did a fleet of US special-operations aircraft fly into the UK this week? Was it just for the seizure of an oil-tanker, might it have something to do with Iran, or is it all an attempt to distract from something else?

It’s seven years since the jihadists’ caliphate was brought to a complete end, but IS continues to attack in Syria and there are signs of a potential resurgence.
The RAF and French Air Force have just bombed what they believe was an underground weapons and explosives store.
Yet the US led coalition against IS, including the UK’s Operation Shader, is supposed to be winding down in 2026.
Dr. Charlie Winter, chief research officer of the intelligence platform ExTrac, explains how the fall of President Assad has allowed IS a year of rebuilding, and why the US and UK should not take their eyes off the ball.