Facing Coming Storms: Talking International Defence
Facing Coming Storms is an international defence podcast from the British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research and the Project for the Study of the 21st Century. Hosted by Peter Apps, it explores topics from confrontation to conflict through expert discussion and analysis. New episodes are released each Monday, with production by Urban Podcasts.
Episodes
NATO's Naval Deterrence
What does it really take to deter a modern adversary at sea when the old rules of the Cold War no longer seem to apply?In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Pete Apps is joined by Professor Jim Bergeron, a former US Navy nuclear submariner and long-time political advisor to NATO's Maritime Forces. They explore the shifting realities of naval warfare, from the high-stakes cat-and-mouse games of
The Global Land Warfare Picture
What does the rapidly evolving face of modern warfare mean for the future of global conflict and Western military strategy?In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we sit down to discuss the global face of land warfare with Ruben Stewart, Senior Fellow for Land Warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Ruben shares his unique journey from serving as a New Zealand infant
Higher Standards? Military Values & Ethics
In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we talk varying multinational approaches military ethics with CHACR director Major General Andrew Sharpe, Colonel Dennis Katolin of the US Marine Corps, Colonel Matthias Strohn of the German Army Reserve (also head of historical analysis at CHACR) and Michelle Richards, former British army officer and CEO of Leadership Alchemy.What You’ll Discover- Armies a
Special Operations: The Network Shaping Modern Warfare
We're recording this from Tampa ahead of Special Operations Forces Week, and it felt like the perfect moment to dig into a world that operates mostly in the shadows but plays a huge role in how modern conflict and defence actually works.In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we sat down with Leo Blanken, associate professor at the US Naval Postgraduate School and former New Zealand soldier now c
How Mideast Conflict Highlights a Changing World
Host Peter Apps is joined by US Naval War College Professor Nikolas Gvosdev and CHACR director Major General Andrew Sharpe to unpack “Operation Epic Fury” and what it tells us about modern warfare. What starts as a discussion about Iran quickly turns into something much bigger. This is about how wars actually unfold today, why they rarely go to plan, and why the systems we’ve relied on for decades
NATO 2026: Decisions, Divisions and Delivering Deterrence
In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we are talking to NATO expert Sten Rynning, Professor of War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark and Eva Sula, a former Estonian government official turned defence industry adviser also as a mentor for NATO tech innovation hub DIANA.Following the fallout of January's Greenland row, we are looking at the complex role of the US – now watched uneasil
US, Allies Kick Off Unpredictable but Critical 2026
In our first episode of 2026, we couldn’t have asked for a stronger panel – three experts who’ve spent their careers wrestling with the grey-zone threats reshaping global security.In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, I bring together Major General Andrew Sharpe (Director of CHACR), Colonel Mietta Groeneveld (Director of the NATO Command & Control Centre of Excellence), and Professor Nikola
What War Movies Really Tell Us
What do war films really teach us - not just about conflict, but about who we think we are, and what we believe we’d do when it matters?In this Christmas episode of Facing Coming Storms, we step slightly sideways from our usual focus on geopolitics and defence technology to explore war movies and popular culture and what they reveal about society’s relationship with conflict.We’re j
Defence Tech, Innovation and Institutional Inertia
What happens when the speed of modern warfare outpaces the systems designed to manage it?In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we are joined by Eva Sula, Estonian defence advisor and mentor at NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA), and Robert Fetters, former U.S. Army paratrooper and special operations officer now working in defence technology. Together, we explore how de
Inside Ukraine's Drone Revolution
From volunteering in March 2022 to whispering in the ear of Ukraine’s High Command and authoring the paper that birthed an entirely new branch of the military, Ukrainian-born Canadian national Illya Sekirin has been at the heart of Ukraine's drone revolution rewriting the rules of warfare.We explore the thinking that led President Zelenskyy to create the Unmanned Systems Forces as Ukraine’s fourth
The Wider Struggle for the World
What happens when the West stops writing the rules and every middle power starts playing its own game at the same time?Peter Apps reunites with Samir Puri, Director of the Centre for Global Governance and Security at Chatham House. From Trump’s transactional peace pushes to China’s mineral land-grab and the growing power of emerging middle powers, they map a world where old empires fade and new on
How the Human Brain Approaches Modern War
We talk with neurologist Dr Nicholas Wright – adviser to the Pentagon Joint Staff and US nuclear strategists amongst others on the functioning of the brain – about his new book "Warhead", which dissects modern conflict and military history from the perspective of spent their career studying how our brain structure, cognitive biases, stress, and human decision-making will shape and potentially dera
"Blood in the Water": From Donbass to Taiwan
As winter grips Ukraine's frontlines and Chinese warships circle Taiwan, the shadows of escalation stretch across two hemispheres, testing alliances and resolve.In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps convenes experts from the Institute for the Study of War - George Barros (Russia & GEOINT Team Lead) on Moscow's grinding push toward Pokrovsk, Matthew Sperzel and Daniel Shats (China
UK Defence in a Changing World
What if the UK's defence future hinges not on its own capabilities, but on bridging gaps in an unpredictable US partnership?In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps speaks with Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), about his two decades in the MOD - from Iraq intelligence to Ukraine support and the evolving US-UK relationship amid T
Information Operation: Navigating the New Battleground
What if the real frontline of modern conflict isn’t on the battlefield, but in the minds and screens of everyday people?In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps is joined by Simon Paterson, former British Army Intelligence officer and head of strategic partnerships at Boon Global, and Margot Fulde-Hardy, investigator at Graphika and ex-French government official. Together, they unpack t
Inside U.S. Defence Uncertainty
Power without a plan: what happens when the world’s strongest military hits pause?In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Pete Apps sits down with Nikolas Gvosdev, Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Professor of National Security Studies at the U.S. Naval War College, to unpack the geopolitical and strategic turbulence surrounding the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.From
The View from Australia
As the balance shifts beneath our feet, new maps are drawn - not on paper, but in power itself.In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps is joined by Dr Peter Layton, retired Royal Australian Air Force officer and visiting fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, to unpack how changing power dynamics are reshaping security in the Indo-Pacific.From China’s rapid military expansion and the f
Ben Barry: The Rise and Fall of the British Army
What happens when an army built for the past must face an uncertain future?In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps sits down with Ben Barry - Senior Fellow for Defence and Military Analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and author of The Rise and Fall of the British Army, 1975–2025 for a sweeping conversation charting five turbulent decades of British military hi
Preparing for Tomorrow’s Battles: Lessons from History
What if the wars of the future look nothing like the wars of the past?In this live edition of Facing Coming Storms, recorded at the Hereford Military History Festival, Pete Apps is joined by two leading voices on conflict: Sir Antony Beevor, Britain’s most acclaimed military historian, and Patrick Bury, former Royal Irish Regiment officer and security lecturer at the University of Bath. Together,
A New World of Naval Technology and Risk
What if the next great naval revolution was already underway?In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps speaks with Admiral Nils Wang - former head of the Danish Navy and Danish Defence College, now senior naval advisor and defence industry board member about the future of maritime warfare in an era defined by drones, AI, and hybrid threats.Together, they explore how unmanned systems are
NATO in Flux: Sten Rynning on America, Europe and the New Divide
What if NATO's biggest threat wasn't Russia but America's retreat?In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we welcome back Sten Rynning, Professor of War Studies at the Danish Institute for Advanced Studies and lecturer at the NATO Defence College. Author of NATO: From Cold War to Ukraine, Sten returns to unpack the turbulence shaking the alliance as the Trump administration redefines transatlanti
Ukraine: The Bigger Picture with Bob Seely
The war in Ukraine is not just a regional conflict – it is a testing ground for the future of warfare and a frontline in the wider confrontation between authoritarian regimes and the West.In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps is joined by Bob Seely, former Member of Parliament, reservist and author of The New Total War. Drawing on his unique background and fa
Shifting Defence Technology in the Twenties
What if cutting-edge technology could redefine global defence strategies?In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps is joined by James Black, Deputy Director at RAND Europe and an expert in strategic competition and emerging technologies. Together, they explore the transformative power of defence technology, its profound implications for global security and industry, and key lessons from
Nuclear Risks and War Planning
What if understanding limited nuclear war could prevent global catastrophe? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we explore the chilling realities of nuclear risks and war planning with Bob Manning, Senior Research Fellow for Strategic Deterrence at the Heritage Foundation and a veteran of nearly 20 years in the US Department of Defence, and Leo Keay, a PhD candidate and parliamentary research
Inside the Mind of Xi Jinping
What if peering into one leader's mind could shape the future of global defence? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps explores the psyche of Chinese President Xi Jinping with Michael Sheridan, a veteran foreign correspondent and author of The Red Emperor. Michael, who first reported for Reuters in 1980, shares insights from Xi's revolutionary roots to his iron grip on power, explori
The Middle East After the Iran Strikes
What’s shaping the Middle East’s evolving landscape? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we’re joined by Hayat Alvi, Ph.D., a professor at the US Naval War College, to explore the factors driving change in the region. We discuss how Iran’s regional strategies are adapting to new challenges and what their measured responses might indicate, drawing on Hayat’s expertise in international relation
Russia and China's Militaries: Similarities and Differences
How do Russia's and China's militaries align and differ in today’s world? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Mark Cozad, a RAND Corporation senior defence researcher and former US Air Force intelligence officer joins Peter Apps, to explore how NATO’s 1999 Kosovo campaign pushed both nations toward “non-contact warfare,” mixing precision strikes with political strategy to counter the West. Ru
Understanding Modern Combat with Battle Research Group
Ben Connable, a former US Marine and leader of the Battle Research Group, discusses the realities of ground combat and their implications for future warfare. We explore the importance of studying battles like Ukraine’s Irpin River clash to understand tactics, human will, and war’s evolving nature, drawing on his team’s fieldwork in Iraq and Ukraine to fill gaps in modern military history often los
After the Summit: Europe's Defence Industrial Base
Can Europe’s fragmented defence industry meet the demands of a shifting geopolitical landscape? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Stuart Dee from RAND Europe joins Peter Apps to unpack the NATO summit in The Hague, where pledges to raise defence spending to 3.5%–5% of GDP signal a bold shift. They discuss why large budgets fail to deliver, hindered by a splintered industrial base.From Germa
An Evolving "Trump Doctrine" and Its Implications
What’s really shaping America’s foreign policy under Trump, and how does it ripple out to the rest of us? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we are joined with Nikolas Gvosdev, a professor at the US Naval War College sharing his personal insights, as we unpack unpredictable US strategy—from strikes on Iran to mixed signals on Ukraine and alliances. We explore tension between bold actions and
Drones and Data: The New Face of Global Conflict
How are drone strikes and precision targeting transforming warfare? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, George Barrows from the Institute for the Study of War and Brian Carter from the American Enterprise Institute analyse Ukraine’s Operation Spider’s Web, smuggling drones into Russia to disrupt airfields, and Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. These intelligence-driven operations ex
Britain’s Battle Plan: Land Warfare 2025
In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we explore how the British Army is preparing for growing global threats. I’m joined by Nicholas Drummond, a former Army officer and KNDS defence consultant, straight from the Royal United Services Institute’s Land Warfare Conference. We discuss the Army’s bold plans to double its lethality by 2027 and align with NATO’s focus on countering Russia in Eastern
Storm Proofing: Will AI Change the Way Soldiers Think?
Artificial intelligence is reshaping warfare, and in this episode, we explore its profound implications with Michael Nyberg, a professor at the US Army War College, and Tom Crosby, an associate professor at the Royal Danish Defence College. Tom’s sociological view questions if AI could lead to a “post-human” war, eroding human limits and strengths, while Michael, a historian, sees AI distilling va
Understanding the Taiwan Confrontation
In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Matthew Sperzel and Daniel Shats from the Institute for the Study of War join us to explore rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait. We discuss China’s growing military and diplomatic pressure—daily aerial incursions, coast guard patrols near Taiwan’s islands—and debate if Xi Jinping’s 2027 deadline signals action or posturing.What You’ll LearnChina’
Jets, Drones, and the Evolving Air-Space Battle
The sky is the new battleground for global powers. In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, aerospace expert Douglas Barry from the International Institute for Strategic Studies joins us to unpack the rapid evolution of military aviation and space. From Ukraine’s drone tactics to China’s space defences and the U.S.’s next-generation fighters, we explore how drones, lasers, and sixth-generation air
Westlessness: Navigating a World Beyond Western Rule
Is the West ready for a multipolar storm? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Samir Puri, former British diplomat and Chatham House director, joins us to dissect the West’s fading unipolar dominance as the Global South asserts its weight. We shred the 1990s fantasy of universal democracy and capitalism, now eclipsed by India’s strategic tightrope and South Africa’s bold Hague plays. From our
Performative Strikes and New Forever Wars
Are we heading toward endless wars or can we pull back? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Nikolas Gvosdev joins us to dissect 2025’s conflicts—from Ukraine and Gaza to Houthi attacks and India-Pakistan tensions. We explore “performative strikes” risking escalation and depleted arsenals, like US Tomahawks and Europe’s scarce shells.Gvosdev reveals how drones sinking ships expose Western mili
Storm Proofing: Preparing Armies for a Future War
How do armies adapt as tech surges and geopolitics destabilise? Leo Blanken from the US Naval Postgraduate School and JP Clark from the US Army War College, contributors to Storm Proofing: Preparing Armies for a Future War from CHACR, out this week, share insights. With the world less safe, this book unites fifteen UK, US, and European experts to prepare for an unpredictable storm. Storm Proofing
A World in Turmoil with The Great British Foreign Affairs Podcast
What’s the world look like through a global defence lens today? On this special episode of Facing Coming Storms, we team up with Anna-Joy Rickard, host of The Great British Foreign Affairs Podcast. Peter takes the hot seat, quizzed by Anna-Joy on massive global shifts—Washington’s focus on China, Europe’s worry about Russia, and the UK stuck between big dreams and European realities. Recorded just
How Wars End
As we approach the 80th anniversary of VE Day, with conflicts like Ukraine still raging, we’re diving into the complex question of how wars truly end. Joined by Major General Andrew Sharpe, director of CHACR, the British Army’s think tank; Matthias Strohn, leading CHACR's historical analysis; and Andrew Stewart, CHACR’s conflict analysis expert, we unpack the messy paths to peace.From Germany’s st
Navigating the Corridors of Power
Curious about the world of government, military, and global decisions, where power weighs a ton yet slips away? In this Facing Coming Storms episode, we’re joined by Ari Ratner, ex-Obama State Department insider turned D.C. sceptic; Liisa Past, Estonia’s former cybersecurity chief and NATO pro; and Brigadier Robbie Boyd, retired British officer with NATO and UN battle scars.We uncover the gritty t
The Baltics at the Crossroads of History
In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we explore the Baltic states—Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia—as NATO’s frontline amid Russia’s growing shadow.Joined by Oliver Moody, Liis Mure, Aliide Naylor, and George Barros, we unpack the region’s turbulent history, current defences, and the human stakes. From Soviet echoes to NATO drones, we explore how these nations face a resurgent R
Simulating Modern Combat with the United States Marine Corps
How are the U.S. Marines getting ready for a chaotic, brutal battlefield? In this episode, we sit down with Captain Nicholas Royer, a simulation officer from the Second Marine Expeditionary Unit, to talk about “Downrange”—a tabletop war game that’s changing how Marines train. Using 3D-printed figures and tough, realistic rules, it throws junior Marines into the deep end of modern combat. They face
NATO and Beyond in a Time of Uncertainty
Can Europe hold its ground if the U.S. pulls back?This week, we’re talking with Professor Sten Rynning, a NATO expert from the Danish Institute of Advanced Study and a lecturer at the NATO Defence College. We’re talking Donald Trump’s impact, the state of European unity, and whether NATO, the EU, and its members can get their act together fast enough.This is a no-filter look at a world where old r
What Next for Ukraine and Its Wider Lessons
Ukraine’s war is shifting fast—US support was halted temporarily, Russia's tank losses remain staggering European resolve is yet to be determined.In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, we unpack it all with George Barros (Institute for Study of War), Iuliia Osmolovska (Globsec Kyiv), and ex-British Army officer Nicholas Drummond.We explore Kyiv’s grit
The US in the World
In this episode, I’m joined by Professor Nikolas Gvosdev of the US Naval War College, a leading expert in European and Russian international relations. Two months into 2025, with a new US president in office, we explore the shifting global order as America rethinks its traditional role.Nikolas offers sharp insights into how allies are adapting, while rivals like China wield their technological and
Mideast Confrontations
In this episode, I am joined by Hayat Alvi, Associate Professor of National Security Affairs at the United States Naval War College. We explore the constantly changing dynamics of the Middle East and its impact on global defence. With over 18 years of experience teaching military and government personnel, Hayat shares valuable insights into the region’s complex political, economic, and cultural la
General Sir Nick Carter: War, Strategy, and Leadership
In this episode, we’re joined by General Sir Nick Carter, one of the most influential British Army commanders of recent times. From commanding a battalion in Kosovo to leading as Chief of Defence Staff during some of the most pivotal moments in recent history, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the withdrawal from Afghanistan, General Carter offers a personal look at his
Facing a Growing China
What does China’s growing military power mean for global stability? In this episode, experts former Rear Admiral Mike Studeman and Nigel Inkster discuss China’s rapid militarisation, its focus on Taiwan, and preparations for potential conflict. They explore China’s relationships with Russia and North Korea, and how these alliances are reshaping the global balance of power.With China’s expandi
Defending Europe in a New and Deadly Era
In this episode, Brigadier Robbie Boyd and Rachel Rizzo join Peter and explore the shifting landscape of global security, revealing how NATO is adapting to the growing threats from Russia and China. As the U.S. pivots towards Asia and reduces its presence in the Middle East, Europe is stepping up to take on a far more prominent military role—an evolution that will reshape the future of defence.We
Preparing for a New Era of Confrontation
How are shifting global tensions and new technological threats changing the way the world views war? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Peter Apps talks with with Major General Andrew Sharpe, Director of the British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, Rocco Santurri, a former U.S. Army active-duty officer and now reservist serving with U
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