Tim Ripley

Tim Ripley has been writing on defence issues since 1990, for a wide range of British and international publications. He has reported from conflict zones in the Balkans and Middle East, as well as major defence and aerospace industry exhibitions around the world. Recent assignments include the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia, the Farnborough, Paris, Dubai and Singapore Airshows, NATO Headquarters in Brussels, The Hague war crimes tribunal and the Pentagon in Washington DC. His news reporting and features have appeared in the mainstream news media (The Sunday Telegraph, The Economist, The Scotsman) as well as specialist defence publications (Jane's Defence Weekly, Jane's Intelligence Review, Jane's Sentinel, Air Forces Monthly, Air International, Defence Helicopter, Unmanned Vehicles, Flight International, Flight Daily News, World Air Power Journal, International Air Power Review)

US will hit ‘very fast and very hard’ if Iran retaliates for Qassem Soleimani assassination, Trump warns

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Donald Trump

Donald Trump has warned that the US will hit Iran “very fast and very hard” if it takes retaliatory action after the assassination of the terror chief Qassem Soleimani. The US president said that the military has identified 52 Iranian targets, including some “very high level” cultural sites, which he said the will be hit … Read more US will hit ‘very fast and very hard’ if Iran retaliates for Qassem Soleimani assassination, Trump warns

Top brass plans to shrink army

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British Army Royal Military Academy Sandhurst cadets alongside U.S. Army West Point Military Academy cadets

Defence chiefs are discussing plans to slash the size of the British Army and lend one of the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carriers to the UK’s allies amid fears they may be forced into further defence cuts. The Tory manifesto, published today, will ditch an explicit commitment made just two years ago by Theresa May … Read more Top brass plans to shrink army

Tim Ripley’s new book, Operation Aleppo, out now

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Operation Aleppo - Promotional Image

Russia’s intervention in Syria in September 2015 caught the world by surprise. Since then Russian bombers, fighter jets, drones, warships and special forces troops have helped turn the tide of the brutal Syria civil war in favour Bashar al-Assad’s government in Damascus. As the war enters its endgame, Tim Ripley’s new book, Operation Aleppo, looks … Read more Tim Ripley’s new book, Operation Aleppo, out now

Open Source Intelligence and the Syrian Conflict

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Syria is perhaps the most “reported on” conflict in the modern era. There is just a “torrent” of news reports, video, still pictures, social media posts, Skype interviews coming out of the country. Every Syrian soldier and fighter has a smart phone to film their exploits ‐ but there are few “independent international journalists” on … Read more Open Source Intelligence and the Syrian Conflict

British soldier so brave ‘it was a shame to kill him’

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  The young Welshman was the bravest soldier the Germans had seen. But his courage went unrecognised because his commanding officers were dead. Now his great-great-nephew, a lieutenant in the Welsh Guards, has discovered the remarkable story of John Llewellyn Evans after a two-year quest to learn the details of his death in the First … Read more British soldier so brave ‘it was a shame to kill him’

Revealed: the huge gaps in UK defences

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  Britain has been left with gaping holes in its defences, with warships so noisy that Russian submarines can hear them 100 miles away, drones costing £1bn that have not entered frontline service 12 years after being ordered and light tanks that are too big to fit into transport aircraft. A Sunday Times investigation has … Read more Revealed: the huge gaps in UK defences

Shrunken army fears Russia could destroy it in an afternoon

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  Defence cuts have “effectively removed” Britain’s ability to “deliver and sustain” an effective fighting force against a “competent” enemy such as Russia, according to the army’s think tank. Years of squeezed budgets have resulted in the “hollowing out or deletion of the army’s deployed capabilities”, a paper from the Centre for Historical Analysis and … Read more Shrunken army fears Russia could destroy it in an afternoon

Assad’s Air Force – A Briefing

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The Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) has been an independent service in the Syrian armed forces since its formation in 1948 but is distinct from the Air Defence Force, which controls Syria’s network of air defence radars and surface‐to‐air missile batteries. It has a long tradition of political involvement in the government of Syria, supporting … Read more Assad’s Air Force – A Briefing

Choir of Heroes has a gig with Harry

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The choirmaster Gareth Malone is planning to recruit wounded military veterans to sing at Prince Harry’s Invictus Games in Florida. The progress of the Choir for Heroes will be followed in two BBC television programmes to coincide with the games in May. This is expected to be the biggest international sporting event for wounded, injured and … Read more Choir of Heroes has a gig with Harry