Warships Pod

By: Warships Pod
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • WARSHIPS POD aims to put a spotlight on the world’s navies and features warships past, present, and future. We’ll cover current defense issues alongside interviews and commentary on the Royal Navy, US Navy, and all other navies across the globe, as well as looking back at historical events. This is the podcast for WARSHIPS International Fleet Review, a monthly magazine.
    Warships IFR
    Show More Show Less
World Political Science
Show More Show Less
Episodes
  • 34: Missile Wars & the Risk of WW3

    34: Missile Wars & the Risk of WW3
    Oct 16 2024
    Dr James Bosbotinis draws on his considerable expertise in naval weaponry and the threats they pose, along with offering insights into geopolitical developments that do not augur well for world peace.

    The discussion with host Iain Ballantyne includes the part played by the US Navy and Royal Navy defending international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden against attack by the Houthi rebels of Yemen, along with Iranian ballistic missile and drone blitzes on Israel.

    Western naval stocks being depleted at a time when the threat from Russia and China must also be deterred is considered, along with whether or not Directed Energy Weapons (lasers) offer a cheap, less expensive, means to tackle incoming drones and missiles. Going back to the future is also likely, Iain and James agree, with Western warships bristling with guns.

    The Iranian-Russian alliance, and also Moscow’s co-operation with North Korea, crops up in the chat, as does Russia sending military advisors to assist the Houthis in targeting Western warships and merchant vessels. Iain and James discuss Putin possibly supplying even more deadly missiles to the Houthis, raising the prospect of a latter-day Cuban Missile Crisis. Moscow may well miscalculate and cross a red line that could lead to major war with the West, a conflict stretching around the globe with worldwide repercussions.

    How Russia might deal with NATO after the Ukraine War draws to an end is also touched on during the conversation, not least the UK’s lack of ballistic missile defences, and the need for the West’s political and military leaders to create credible deterrence that defeats Moscow’s nuclear blackmail.

    • Dr James Bosbotinis is a freelance specialist in defence and international affairs and the Book Reviews Editor of ‘The Naval Review’. He has written widely on issues including: development of maritime strategy, long-range strike technologies (including hypersonic weapons) and their impact on strategy; Russian naval and wider military modernisation; China’s evolving strategy and naval force development. Dr Bosbotinis contributes to various international media outlets. He is also an Associate Member of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies, King’s College London.

    For more information about Dr Bosbotinis visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesbosbotinis

    He is on X @JamesBosbotinis

    •Iain Ballantyne is the founding and current Editor of ‘Warships IFR’ magazine (first published in 1998) along with its ‘Guide to the Royal Navy’ (since 2003) and ‘Guide to the US Navy’ (since 2018). Iain is also author of the books ‘Hunter Killers’ (Orion) and ‘The Deadly Trade’ (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), both about submarine warfare, plus ‘Arnhem: Ten Days in The Cauldron’ and ‘Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom’ (published by Canelo). In 2017 Iain was awarded a Fellowship by the British Maritime Foundation, which promotes awareness of the United Kingdom’s dependence on the sea and seafarers. Visit his web site Bismarckbattle.com and follow him on X @IBallantyn

    The next (November) edition of ‘Warships IFR’ is published on 18.10.24 in the UK and also deployed globally. Visit the magazine web site http://bit.ly/wifrmag Also, follow it on X @WarshipsIFR Facebook @WarshipsIFR and Warships IFR TV on YouTube @warshipsifrtv3668

    For more on various editions of the magazine https://bit.ly/wifri
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 3 mins
  • 33: Making the Royal Navy More Lethal

    33: Making the Royal Navy More Lethal
    Jul 23 2024
    Our guests on this episode of the podcast are Dr Emma Salisbury and Will Freer, who recently wrote a commentary for Warships IFR, headlined ‘How to Achieve a More Lethal Royal Navy’, which was based on their recent report for the Council on Geostrategy.

    Here they discuss various topics associated with the report with podcast host Iain Ballantyne. They include the Royal Navy’s role today, what ‘being more lethal’ means in reality and also component parts of ‘more lethality’.

    In addition, the ideal size of the Royal Navy’s destroyer and frigate force is touched on and also the importance of fleet size, especially in the drone era. Other aspects of lethality are highlighted, including the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the importance of an efficient recruitment system for the RN (along with retention of those already in the Naval Service).

    Iain asks if, in light of the new UK Government, how likely we are to see a pruning back of current warship orders, for the Type 26 and/or Type 31 frigates.

    With the scars of the notorious 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) still running deep - and the state of UK Defence not getting much better during subsequent reviews - can we be optimistic about the defence review now underway, especially with Lord Robertson at the helm? Or can we kiss hopes for a more lethal Royal Navy goodbye?

    To read Emma and Will’s report, called ‘A more lethal Royal Navy: Sharpening Britain’s naval power,’ in full https://www.geostrategy.org.uk/research/a-more-lethal-royal-navy-sharpening-britains-naval-power/
    Follow the Council on Geostrategy on X @ConGeostrategy
    Web site: geostrategy.org.uk

    To read a concise summary of the same report, written by its authors, get the July 2024 edition of Warships IFR https://warshipsifr.com/issues/

    •Dr Emma Salisbury is a fellow at the Council on Geostrategy, specialising in naval matters, defence-industrial policy, and military procurement. She recently completed her PhD with a dissertation focused on the history of the US military-industrial complex. She is also a senior staffer for a Member of Parliament and an assistant editor at War on the Rocks.
    Follow her on X @salisbot

    •William Freer is a Research Fellow in National Security at the Council on Geostrategy, where his work centres around the Council's 'Strategic Advantage Cell' exploring the key foreign and defence policy issues facing the UK. Before joining the Council he did War Studies at King's College London and went on to work in the world of consulting. He is also an Associate Fellow with the Royal Navy's Strategic Studies Centre.
    Follow him on X @william_freer

    •Iain Ballantyne is the founding and current Editor of Warships IFR (first published in 1998) along with its ‘Guide to the Royal Navy’ (since 2003) and ‘Guide to the US Navy’ (since 2018). Iain is also author of the books ‘Hunter Killers’ (Orion) and ‘The Deadly Trade’ (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), both about submarine warfare, plus ‘Arnhem: Ten Days in The Cauldron’ and ‘Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom’ (published by Canelo). In 2017 Iain was awarded a Fellowship by the British Maritime Foundation, which promotes awareness of the United Kingdom’s dependence on the sea and seafarers. Visit his web site Bismarckbattle.com and follow him on X @IBallantyn

    The next (Sept) edition of Warships IFR is published on 16.8.24 in the UK and also deployed globally. Visit the magazine web site http://bit.ly/wifrmag Also, follow it on X @WarshipsIFR Facebook @WarshipsFR and Warships IFR TV on YouTube @warshipsifrtv3668 For more on various editions of the magazine https://bit.ly/wifri
    Show More Show Less
    47 mins
  • 32: Dormant NATO & Russia: Confront or Contain?

    32: Dormant NATO & Russia: Confront or Contain?
    Jun 3 2024
    Back for a second discussion of hot topics are guests Dr Gary Blackburn and Dr David Blagden. With host Iain Ballantyne, they weigh up the prospect of European NATO nations being forced to cope with a bigger burden of defence, if a re-elected President Trump decides to to pull American land forces out of the Continent. It is a policy that is being called ‘Dormant NATO’ by some commentators.

    They also consider whether or not the confrontation between missile-firing Houthi rebels and Western navies in the Red Sea is becoming a forgotten contest, with warships that were once committed to protecting sea trade now diverted elsewhere.

    With European taxpayers getting a subsidy on their own defence - due to the USA carrying the NATO burden - it is suggested that (even if America did not pull out or scale back forces in annoyance) its strategic and military rivalry with China - which is building a huge navy - may force Washington to concentrate even more on Asia-Pacific.

    In discussing the fact that certain sanctions on Russia, for invading Ukraine in 2022, may be less than waterproof, the subject of whether to directly confront Moscow or stick to a long, hard policy of containment - in ‘Cold War 2’ - is also touched upon by the trio.

    •The next (July) edition of Warships IFR is published on June 21 in the UK and globally. Visit the magazine web site http://bit.ly/wifrmag Also, follow us on X @WarshipsIFR Facebook @WarshipsFR and Warships IFR TV on YouTube @warshipsifrtv3668 For more on various editions of the magazine https://bit.ly/wifri

    •Dr Gary Blackburn is an honorary fellow of the Centre for Security Studies at the University of Hull. Gary has taught Security Studies and Military History at the Universities of Leeds and Hull, respectively - and has written for Defence Studies and The Critic, and for the latter about aspects of the UK’s 2021 Integrated Review of Defence and Security. Follow him on X at @gjb70

    •Dr David Blagden, is Senior Lecturer in International Security at the Strategy and Security Institute (SSI) and in the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Exeter. Dr Blagden has worked in - and subsequently consulted for - the UK Cabinet Office, provided evidence for a number of Parliamentary Select Committees and HM Government policy reviews.

    He is also a Visiting Fellow of the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre, an Associate of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies. He has written for outlets including The Guardian, The Spectator and the New Statesman. Follow him on X @blagden_david

    •Iain Ballantyne is the founding and current Editor of Warships IFR (first published in 1998) along with its ‘Guide to the Royal Navy’ (since 2003) and ‘Guide to the US Navy’ (since 2018). Iain is also author of the books ‘Hunter Killers’ (Orion) and ‘The Deadly Trade’ (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), both about submarine warfare, plus ‘Arnhem: Ten Days in The Cauldron’ and ‘Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom’ (published by Canelo). In 2017 Iain was awarded a Maritime Fellowship by the British Maritime Foundation. Visit his web site Bismarckbattle.com and follow him on X @IBallantyn
    Show More Show Less
    25 mins

What listeners say about Warships Pod

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
No Reviews are Available
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.