This Is Not A Drill with Gavin Esler

New Weapons for New Wars – MISSILES: The next generation

September 3, 2026·35 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

A new four-part series from This Is Not A Drill… Warfare is evolving faster than ever in this dangerous world. Gavin Esler explores a new generation of weapons and how they’ll fight – or prevent – the next wars. This time: In an age of brutal medium-sized regional conflicts, nuclear deterrence is suddenly less important – and missiles are back. From massively destructive hypersonic weapons to smart cruise-drone hybrids to networked “loitering munitions”, they’re becoming faster, more accurate, and more capable of inflicting atrocities on civilians in indiscriminate hands. And as the Iran and Ukraine Wars prove, they’re far from a guarantee of victory.  Gavin Esler talks to: • Dr Sidharth Kaushal, senior research fellow in the Military Sciences programme at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)  • Peter Apps, global defense columnist for Reuters, British Army reservist and author of The Next World War Dr Jessica Dorsey, assistant Professor of International Law and co-director of Realities of Algorithmic Warfare at Utrecht University.  Buy books through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund This Is Not A Drill by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. •⁠ Support us on Patreon⁠ to keep This Is Not a Drill producing thought-provoking podcasts like this. • Find out if you’re owed on car finance at ⁠refundclub.co.uk/drill⁠ • Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law Limited, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA no. 8008114). Checking is free. A fee is payable only if your claim is successful. Eligibility: car finance taken out in the UK between 2007 and 2021. The average claim is around £829 per agreement; this is an average and not a guarantee of the amount you will receive. You can also claim yourself for free by contacting your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service. ⁠refundclub.co.uk/drill Written and presented by Gavin Esler. Produced by Robin Leeburn. Original theme music by Paul Hartnoll – https://www.orbitalofficial.com. Executive Producer Martin Bojtos. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. This Is Not A Drill is a Podmasters production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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