Oslo is spending £10bn to equip itself with five Type 26 frigates – a big vote of confidence in these submarine hunters already being built for the Royal Navy.

But it will also mean the already-stretched timeline to deliver the Navy’s eight new frigates becomes even longer.

Former Director of Navy Acquisition, Commodore Steve Prest, explains what cutting edge capabilities of the Type 26 that persuaded Norway to buy British, how the delays might impact Britain’s maritime capability, and why despite that he thinks it’s still good news for the Royal Navy.

Sitrep analyses open-source intelligence which shows an uptick in secretive surveillance flights, by the UK, US and Russia, in the High North and over the Baltic.

Defence Analyst and former infantry officer Ed Arnold explains the possibilities behind the activity, and we hear first hand from NATO's Arctic Ocean patrols.

Could peat-bogs be used as tank-traps to help protect Eastern Europe from Russian invasion? We hear from Estonia where they’re looking at potential spin-off benefits from their plan to tackle climate change.

And BBC weather forecaster Simon King draws on his RAF experience to explain the science of weather manipulation, and whether militaries could ever hope to use it to their advantage.

The history of the Battle of Britain has been written many times over the last 85 years, but almost always from a British perspective.

The award-winning aviation historian Dr Victoria Taylor believes that’s led to the Luftwaffe’s role being oversimplified, meaning we don’t truly understand what happened.

She talks to Sitrep editor James Hirst about her new book “Eagle Days”, which takes a fresh look at the story of wartime Germany’s air force to understand the psychology which drove its actions.

Researched through the letters and diaries of the men who served she tells us why this was not the David vs Goliath fight that is often simply portrayed, and why the idea that “they were just like us” is a troubling misunderstanding.

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.

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.

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. 

British servicemen and women rely on having the right kit to do their jobs, and protect their lives at the front line, but MPs says the process of buying that equipment is broken.

Sitrep talks to Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge about his new plan to fix long delays, multi-billion pound overspends, and hopelessly overoptimistic ideas.

A new integration authority can veto plans that don’t work across all three services, equipment will be put into service earlier in development, and exportability will also be a priority.

But governments have struggled with these procurement problems for decades, so will this plan finally deliver the forces the kit they need, when they need it, or will the “legion stories of kit that let them down” continue?

Troops and hardware which Russia’s been holding in reserve have been moved to the 600-mile-long front line, and handful of local armoured offensives point to the start of a wider push.

Sitrep’s Professor Michael Clarke explains how Moscow wants to exploit Ukraine’s ammunition shortages, while Kyiv tries to keep the initiative by forcing Russia’s hand, and journalist Tom Mutch tells us what he saw and heard visiting frontline troops.

RAF airdrops have delivered tonnes of urgent food aid to Gaza in operations that carry risks both for the aircrew and civilians on the ground. Retired Air Vice Marshal Sean Bell explains how it’s done.

And is the mysterious Havana Syndrome, suffered by hundreds of US diplomats and spies, linked to the Salisbury poisonings? Hamish de Bretton-Gordon assesses new findings which claim the same Russian military intelligence unit is behind both.

Sitrep hears from Kupiansk, celebrated as a significant victory when it was liberated a year and a half ago, but in Russian sights once again as Moscow tries a new push forward.

Ukraine’s troops trying to hold firm are hampered by artillery shortages, they’ve been rationing shells for months, but have turned to small drones to fill at least some of the gap.

Journalist Tom Mutch tells us about his visit to Kupiansk, how the soldiers are coping, what they’re expecting, and how he was surprised by their morale.

From submariners at sea for months at a time, to soldiers living and working on Russia’s doorstep, the new Wider Service Medal is intended to recognise “crucial operational impact” without the risks to life faced in combat. 

Some say it’s long overdue, others call it a medal for “just turning up”. We ask a former head of the Army, General Lord Dannatt, whether this is devaluing medals or valuing people.

Amid warnings we need to be ready for war Sitrep’s James Wharton explains how Iraq shaped the Army of today, and Professor Michael Clarke assesses whether counter-insurgency has bent our warfighting capability out of shape.

And as the Apache mark-1 retires we reflect on two decades of service from this attack helicopter which looks like a giant menacing insect, and hear what its successor can do.

Emergency calls from any vessel under attack in the Red Sea are handled thousands of miles away, in Portsmouth, by a Royal Navy supported control centre.

Sitrep’s Tim Cooper is one of the first ever journalists to visit the UKMTO, where calls have soared by 475% as missile and drone attacks from Yemen are launched on average once every two days.

Also on Sitrep, after the Defence Secretary’s plane had its navigation system jammed by Russia, we explain the risks from electronic warfare and what we can do about them.

And the Army’s teamed up with McLaren to learn from Formula 1 electric vehicle technology. We ask former Defence Sustainability adviser Lieutenant General Richard Nugee whether electric vehicles really could rule the battlefield.

War is changing and military strategy no longer delivers victory because of a “short war fallacy”. That warning comes from eminent defence historian Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, who was part of the Iraq inquiry panel.

He tells Sitrep why he believes military strategists, and their political masters, need to change their mindset, while Professor Michael Clarke explains how the UK’s recent defence review stacks up against that thinking.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton has been confirmed as the new Chief of Defence Staff.  Sitrep assesses what he’ll bring to this newly beefed-up role leading the Armed Forces.

And Dr Victoria Taylor tells us why German reticence to share the history of the Luftwaffe means we may have failed, until now, to fully understand the Battle of Britain.

Wargaming is about as old as war itself, but in a time many describe as “pre-war” how can it help us be ready for the worst, if it happens?

Sitrep talks to the UK’s Assistant Head of Defence Wargaming, Captain Eugene Morgan, who’s charged with building British wargaming capacity and capability “to make better decisions for defence”

He explains how it’s already used, and what the future may hold, while former US Army soldier Anna Nettleship shares wargaming stories from her new career as a leading researcher in the field.

Plus Sitrep’s James Hirst tries his hand at some simple wargaming with students at Kings College London.

Russia has published the recording of a meeting between senior German air-force officers, revealing military and political secrets about British, French and German support to Ukraine.

Former Army intelligence officer Colonel Philip Ingram tells Sitrep it comes down to people being the weakest link, and that we shouldn’t dismiss it as “just a German problem”.

United Nations peacekeeping troops have now been in Cyprus for 60 years. Professor Michael Clarke explains why hundreds of British soldiers still serve on that operation, while Sitrep’s Sofie Cacoyannis takes her father back to where he lived when the peacekeepers arrived.

And we talk to Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman about her journey to becoming the world’s only female Chief of Defence Staff and the Jamaica Defence Force’s close ties with the UK.

Every single country in the world allows women to serve in at least some military roles, but only one has a woman at the very top of its Armed Forces.

Jamaica’s Chief of Defence Staff, Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman, was appointed in 2022 and is only the second woman in history to hold such a role (Slovenia appointed a female chief of defence for two years in 2018).

Rear Admiral Wemyss-Gorman talks to Kate Gerbeau about her rise through the ranks across three decades, how male military leaders around the world react to her, and how the UK can learn from her approach to changing culture.

She also shares memories of her officer training at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth (cold apparently), and the value she places on the Jamaica Defence Force’s close ties with the UK.

Six NATO submarines, accompanied by ships and aircraft, are playing a giant military game of hide and seek in the Mediterranean.

NATO’s Commander Submarines, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas Wall, tells us more about exercise Dynamic Manta, and Sitrep’s Claire Sadler explains what life is like onboard one of those subs.

Vladimir Putin claims Russia now has the initiative in the Ukraine war – is he right? Professor Michael Clarke and Simon Newton explain the current battlefield picture, and Colin Freeman gives a first-hand account from one of Russia’s next targets.

And why do so many British people say they would refuse to fight for their country, despite most believing war is a real possibility within the next decade. Matt Smith from YouGov talks us through their latest research.

Britain has spent seven billion pounds over the last two years, equipping Ukraine’s armed forces to help keep them in the fight against Russia.

On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion Sitrep talks to Major General Anna-Lee Reilly and Andy Start from Defence Equipment and Support about how that’s been done, and what lies ahead.

Denmark’s decided to give its entire artillery stock to Ukraine and appealed to others to do the same. Professor Michael Clarke explains the pros and cons.

And thousands of people are asking the government to rethink its New Accommodation Offer for the forces. Sitrep explains the plan to “modernise eligibility” for service family accommodation, and why there are losers as well as winners.

For the second time in a row a Royal Navy test firing of an unarmed Trident missile has ended in failure.

The government says it was an “anomaly” and that it has “absolute confidence” in the nuclear deterrent, but it hasn’t explained why the missile failed.

It’s called the ultimate insurance policy, but can it still deter Russia after two very public failures?

Professor Michael Clarke explains what could have gone wrong, why the government insists we can have confidence, and whether it’s just an embarrassment or a serious worry.

Donald Trump’s talk of telling President Putin to “do whatever the hell he wants” to NATO allies who “don’t pay” has been called unhinged, but he could be President again.

So Sitrep examines if Europe could defend itself against Russia without American support, if it really came to that.  

Professor Michael Clarke and Simon Newton explain how European military capability compares to Russia’s and former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller gives an alliance insider's view.

Also on Sitrep we’re at Marchwood sea loading centre as hundreds of British military vehicles head to NATO’s biggest exercise in decades.

And the former climate-change champion for defence, Lieutenant General Richard Nugee, talks us through the practicalities of getting militaries to do more for the environment.

Sitrep gets unprecedented access to the heart of the UK’s military spying operation. 

Sian Grzeszczyk tells all, including the crashed Russian drones being disassembled by Defence Intelligence, how its analysts uncovered an arms-for-horses deal between Moscow and North Korea, and why it really does all look like a James Bond lair.

As MP’s say we must choose between more money for the forces or limiting their workload, former National Security Adviser Lord Ricketts tells Sitrep training foreign forces and Cyprus peacekeeping could be cut to concentrate on better warfighting capability. 

And we meet Turbo, the RAF’s new Typhoon display pilot, to talk negative-G, slow passes, and wowing the crowds.

Boris Johnson has called for the UK to bring back National Service. Sweden did just that seven years ago to solve its military recruitment crisis, and Germany’s looking at the idea.

Sitrep talks to Swedish defence expert Elisabeth Braw and former Welsh Guards officer Nicholas Drummond about whether it’s the answer for the UK’s depleted Armed Forces.

Iran’s ‘axis of resistance’ has carried out regular strikes against US forces in the middle east for months now. Sitrep explains who these militias are, and why Iran is helping them.

And as President Putin visits the small isolated Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, Mark Galeotti explains why some think it could be the place where war with NATO begins.

Strategic command, like the three single services, is deemed important enough to our defence to merit its own Chief of Staff.

General Sir James Hockenhull tells Sitrep about the organisation that he leads and its mission to help the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force be the best they can be.

From medical services to digital networks, cyber to intelligence, Strategic Command provides joint capabilities for all of the services, and is also tasked with developing new ones.

General Hockenhull talks to Sian Grzeszczyk about briefing the Prime Minister at the moment war began in Ukraine, why he sees himself as an accidental general, and why he chose not to apply for the very top job in Britain’s armed forces.

NATO countries have signed up hundreds of billions of pounds in extra defence spending by 2035, but no one has told us yet what it will be spent on.

But Mike explains how the UK’s part can already be seen in recent Strategic Defence Review.

From F-bombs to F-35s, and the viral ‘Daddy’ moment, there was a lot of political theatre at the NATO summit. But a former commander of the UK-led Allied Rapid Reaction Corps tells Sitrep why he’s sure that, behind the scenes, serious military figures have a firm grip on getting things done.

And Sian Grzeszczyk-Melbourne gives us an insider’s take from The Hague, including the importance of seating plans and President Trump turning the tables on a Ukrainian journalist.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith has been a Conservative MP for more than 30 years, and led his party from 2001 to 2003.

In parliament he’s a vocal contributor on defence, security, and international issues. 

His criticism of China’s government is so vocal the country has placed sanctions against him and his family.

He tells Sitrep why he believes China is a threat to the UK, not just a ‘challenge’ as it is officially deemed, how his military service shaped his political ambitions, and whether he’d join the “too small” armed forces of today.

Tens of thousands of people around the world have seen the moment one Royal Navy minehunter reversed into another in Bahrain, doing millions of pounds worth of damage.

Former Royal Navy Commodore Alistair Halliday talks us through the range of technical and human factors which could explain why HMS Chiddingfold went backwards instead of ahead.

The Chief of General Staff wants the UK to train up a “citizen army” to be ready for war. Mike explains why this doesn’t have to mean conscription, and former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith gives us his reaction.

And are killer robots an inevitability in the future of war? Someone who’s helped shape UK policy on autonomous weapons tells us why he’s written a novel to warn about the risks of science-fiction becoming lethal-fact.

The Defence Secretary warns of tough times ahead...we look at those warnings but also hear from another of Britain’s most senior military chiefs who has a more hopeful message. The Head of Stratcom rarely speaks to the media, but we hear his take on the state of the world.

Also on Sitrep Is diplomacy still a thing? Does it achieve anything? We speak to a former Army Officer who’s worked as a defence attaché representing the UK in 25 countries.

And what do the Houthis actually have in their arsenal?....plenty, according to an expert on the group that’s still causing chaos in the Red Sea.

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.

The First Sea Lord has been asked for a plan to “take forward” the work of the Royal Marines, as ministers effectively confirm they’re again reconsidering the future of the corps’ two amphibious assault ships.

Professor Michael Clarke explains what’s going on, and former Royal Marines Commandant General, Major General Buster Howes, tells Sitrep the Defence Secretary needs to think “very very carefully”.

The Defence Secretary tells the world “watch this space” for possible reprisal strikes against Houthis firing missiles at the Red Sea. British Sailors are already on constant watch there, and former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe explains what they experience when missiles and drones are incoming.

And how do you learn to command a multi-million pound military craft in an environment less explored than space? Ryan Ramsay who used to lead the Royal Navy’s submarine command course shares stories of near misses, pushing people beyond their limits, and how he’s turned it all into life lessons for a new book.

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.

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.

Cyber-warfare was is no longer simply science-fiction, it is now a military fact that hits hard.

 Military communications, power systems and nuclear processing plants have all been taken offline in recent years by purely digital attacks.

 The UK’s capability for this domain sits in the National Cyber Force, created three years ago as part of Strategic Command, bringing together military and intelligence teams for both defensive and offensive cyber operations.

 Kate Gerbeau talks to Lieutenant General Tom Copinger-Symes, the Deputy Commander of Stratcom, about the cyber threats the UK faces and how the force is tackling them.

The UK has around 100 square miles of sovereign territory in Cyprus, home to more than 3000 Defence personnel, and it is a lynchpin of British military operations around the world.

On the doorstep of the Middle East it’s used from everything from bombing missions, to intelligence gathering and decompression for troops returning from operations.

Sitrep talks to Colonel Vicky Reid about her key role as the UK Defence Adviser in Cyprus, responsible not only for helping deliver missions such as civilian evacuations, but also keeping everything running smoothly by maintaining the working relationship with the government of Cyprus

[This interview was recorded before the war between Israel and Iran, when extra RAF jets were deployed to Cypus]

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.

Every single country in the UN is signed up to the same laws of war, but Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is reminding us interpretations of those laws often differ.

In this extra Sitrep podcast Kate Gerbeau talks to Rev. Nicholas Mercer, who was the British Army’s top legal adviser in Iraq 20 years ago.

He explains the key principles that govern the legality of military action, how he applied them in the midst of battle, and how the Israel Gaza war mirrors many of the difficult decisions he faced in Basra.

The Army’s future is built around the new Ajax armoured fighting vehicle. After years of delays, faults, and even injuries to troops, ministers say the Ajax programme is now ‘in recovery’.

We take a look for ourselves, from the production line to training on Salisbury plain and hear from soldiers using the first of the vehicles.

Another cold-war treaty has collapsed. It aimed to prevent surprise attacks by limiting Russia and NATO’s options for massing their military might. We assess whether NATO will take advantage of the extra flexibility it’s just got.

Plus the British Army’s former top legal adviser in Iraq talks us through the laws of war, and how the big questions he faced in Basra 20 years ago are mirrored in Gaza right now.

Japan is one of the world’s third biggest economic power, but until now its military power has come nowhere close to matching that.

That’s changing though, with a 5-year defence-spending spree to include new counter-strike capabilities which will enable Japan to fire on enemy land for the first time since World War Two.

Kate Gerbeau talks to the author of ‘Japan as a Global Military Power’, Dr Chris Hughes, about how capable Japan’s forces already are, what the extra spending will add, and why Britain is key to Tokyo’s plan for greater military might.

He’s been called a strategic and tactical genius – but he also abandoned tens of thousands of his soldiers to their deaths.

Sitrep goes behind the Hollywood gloss of the new Napoleon film to assess his true military legacy, and Professor Michael Clarke explains how Napoleonic innovations are still used in wars today.

Japan is on a massive military spending spree aiming to become the worlds 3rd largest military budget. We assess what military capability it has, and what it needs to face down China and North Korea.

Ukraine’s Commander in Chief has declared the war in his country at stalemate. But why, and what does it tell us about tensions at the top in Kyiv. Simon Newton explains all.

Russia is planning a new naval base in territory it occupies on Georgia’s Black Sea coast, because of Ukraine’s strikes against Russian ships near Crimea.

Sitrep hears from the Georgian capital about worries it could make their country a target for Ukraine.

Professor Michael Clarke and Simon Newton share their assessments, and examine how we can improve ammunition supplies to Ukrainian forces who are having to weigh individual artillery shells at the front line, because ‘standard’ doesn’t mean quite what you think.

And we explain why a new study says training for servicemen and women needs to be less industrial, and more democratic.

Israel’s mission to destroy Hamas has some parallels with the battle to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State terror group – tens of thousands of fighters among a densely packed population of around two-million citizens.

Major General Rupert Jones, who was deputy commander of the anti-IS coalition, shares the lessons from Mosul, and Professor Michael Clarke assesses how they do, or don’t, apply in Gaza.

The RAF’s next generation of drone, Protector, has arrived in Britain for the first time. We’ll explain what it can do.

And as Robert Courts MP becomes the new chair of the Commons Defence Committee, we ask one of his predecessors whether the group can make a difference, or are just a talking shop. 

General David Petraeus commanded multinational forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, wrote America’s handbook on counter-insurgency, and went on to lead the CIA.

Now he wants to help those who follow him learn the lessons of the wars he fought, and many others since World War Two.

General Petraeus and acclaimed military historian Andrew Roberts tell Kate Gerbeau how the outbreak of war in Ukraine spurred them to combine their disciplines for a fresh look at how we got here, and why.

In their book ‘Conflict – The evolution of warfare from 1945 to Ukraine’ General Petraeus shares personal accounts from Iraq and Afghanistan, and we learn lessons including how a tactic deployed with devastating effect by Israel’s enemies failed spectacularly for Russia.

British ships, planes, and personnel have been sent to Mediterranean, tasked with waiting and watching as war rages between Israel and Gaza.

Professor Michael Clarke explains how they could be used, to stop weapons smuggling and gather intelligence, with the aim of preventing a wildfire spread of the conflict.

Sitrep hears first-hand about the challenges facing Ukraine’s troops as they continue to fight back against Russia, including how some artillery commanders are now limited to just five shells per week.

And General David Petraeus, arguably the most significant military commander of the 21st century so far, shares some very personal lessons on the evolution of warfare.

Israel declared war because of a Hamas terrorist atrocity, invading from Gaza, killing more than a thousand people, and seizing more than 150 hostages.

But what was Hamas hoping to achieve? Is Israel doing exactly what its enemy wants by launching a war, and did it have any other choice?

Professor Michael Clarke and former senior intelligence officer Colonel Philip Ingram address the big military questions of this war.

Another gas pipeline under the Baltic sea has been damaged by an apparent explosion, but what can NATO do about it?

And how the Trinity system could soon be providing British forces with ‘battlefield broadband’, for data driven warfare.

RAF planes have been moved to the Middle East for ‘contingency support’, but what could those contingencies end up being?

Professor Michael Clarke maps out the British military presence in the region, which could come under threat from Iran in a worst-case scenario.

Lord Peter Ricketts, who led many a crisis meeting as National Security Adviser, explains how and why the UK is making military plans even as it calls for de-escalation.

And a former Deputy Commander of RAF Operations, Air Marshal Greg Bagwell, tells us how those British aircraft could be used, and in what situations that might happen.

Iron Titan is the Army’s largest land exercise in more than 20 years, involving 8000 troops across more than 40,000 square miles of South-West England and Wales.

Sitrep hears from some of those taking part, and Forces News reporter Rosie Laydon explains how its using the lessons of Ukraine to test the deployment of the UK’s warfighting division.

Violence, and a Serbian troop buildup, have prompted the deployment of 200 British soldiers to Kosovo as extra peacekeepers. Major General Chip Chapman explains their role, and the risks.

And thousands of new quieter and lighter assault rifles have been ordered for British troops, we explain how it will be different for those who get it.

When Shaun Pinner left the Royal Anglian Regiment, after 9 years as a soldier, he had no intention of ever returning to military life.

Two decades later he was fighting in Ukraine as one of the country’s marines, besieged in the city of Mariupol as it was battered and starved by Russian forces.

When he was captured Shaun was beaten, tortured and eventually sentenced to death by firing squad. Yet he is now a free man, and living in Ukraine.

He tells Kate Gerbeau the incredible story of how he ended up there (via waste management and volunteering in Syria), why he was never a ‘war tourist’, and the surreal moment when he met his unlikely saviour on a luxury jet.

Ukraine has punched a new hole through Russia’s minefields, ditches, and ‘dragons teeth’ in Western Zaporizhzhia, but is it enough to start taking back big swathes of land?

Professor Michael Clarke explains why this is halfway to being a turning point, and Forces News reporter Simon Newton explains what obstacles are still in the way of Ukraine’s tanks.

British Army Veteran Shaun Pinner made headlines around the world when he was captured in Ukraine and sentenced to death by Russia. He tells us why he was never a ‘war tourist’, how decades-old training helped him survive, and about the moment he met his unlikely saviour.

Three veterans of Britain’s nuclear test programme, now entitled to a new medal, share their experiences of being guinea-pigs for the UK’s race to become an atomic power.