Anomalies, crashes and a grounded submarine: A timeline of Royal Navy blunders
Words by Hannah Ward-Glenton, producer, and James Gray, multi-media producer
Britain's nuclear deterrent, Trident, hit the headlines this week after "concerning" reports about a missile misfire and crash, in what is the latest in a long list of embarrassing blunders for the Royal Navy.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that an "anomaly occurred" during an exercise with the nuclear-powered submarine HMS Vanguard on January 30.
Grant Shapps was on board the 150-metre vessel at the time of the incident, a spokesperson for the defence secretary confirmed, while First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key was also present.
Shadow defence secretary John Healey described the test failure as "concerning".
"The defence secretary will want to reassure Parliament that this test has no impact on the effectiveness of the UK's deterrent operations," he said.
Officials said they could not say any more because the incident relates to national security.
The test cost £17 million, The Times reported, after £500 million was spent in overhauling the submarine.
It is thought to be the second misfiring in a row, after a test launch of a Trident missile was also reported to have been a failure in 2016.
The previous tests, in 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2012, were all widely publicised by the MoD and Lockheed Martin, the weapon's US manufacturer, as demonstrations to the world of Trident's reliability.
But there have been plenty of other blunders along the way as ITV News explains.
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October 2010 - A submarine grounding
Royal Navy submarine HMS Astute was grounded for ten hours off the Isle of Skye on October 22, 2010, during a training exercise.
A report into the incident found correct procedures had not been followed for the boat-to-boat transfer exercise and that the equipment showed "some deficiencies".
The submarine continued to have issues in the subsequent years, with reports that the vessel could not reach its intended speed, suffered from flooding during a routine dive and quickly corroded, despite it being relatively new.
June 2016 - A Trident misfire
The Royal Navy carried out a test launch of a Trident missile off the US coast in June 2016, but it was reported to be a failure.
The incident was widely reported as having been covered up at the time as then prime minister Theresa May was looking to convince MPs to sign off a £40 billion spend on new Trident submarines.
Three days earlier a warning was issued to pilots to avoid "hazard areas" over the Atlantic due to "a missile launch/splash down", The Times reported at the time.
July 2016 - Submarine collides with a merchant vessel
A nuclear-powered Royal Navy submarine was forced into port in Gibraltar, after a collision with a merchant vessel in July 2016.
HMS Ambush - an Astute class submarine - was involved in the "glancing" collision while submerged off the coast of Gibraltar, the Royal Navy said.
The Astute-class are the largest, most advanced and powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy.
The boat was involved in the collision despite being equipped with what the Royal Navy boasts are "world leading sensors".
November 2017 - HMS Queen Elizabeth springs a leak
After only a month in service, HMS Queen Elizabeth, then the biggest and most powerful UK-built aircraft carrier, sprung a leak.
It was 280 metres long and was given a 50-year working life, having cost £3.1 billion to produce.
The vessel, which weighs 65,000 tonnes and has a top speed in excess of 25 knots, was understood to have been leaking for some time.
Leaks then forced the aircraft carrier to abandon sea trials in 2019 and reportedly again in 2021.
November 2023 - Submarine system failure
A Royal Navy nuclear-armed submarine suffered a worrying equipment failure in November when a depth gauge incorrectly told the control room crew they had levelled off in the water.
The event could have had catastrophic consequences as the submarine may eventually have reached a point where the water pressure crushed the vessel, which would kill crew members inside.
A back-up system in the engineering department alerted the team that there was an issue, preventing disaster for the 140 crew members and an unknown number of nuclear weapons on board.
With up to 140 crew members and an unknown number of weapons, the consequences could have been dire, ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen reported at the time
January 2024 - One Navy ship reverses into another
Two Royal Navy mine-hunter vessels collided in a port in Bahrain last month.
Mr Shapps said at the time that something "clearly" went wrong, but he denied it was incompetence.
The government said an investigation was underway after footage posted on social media appeared to show HMS Chiddingfold reversing into HMS Bangor off the coast of Bahrain.
February 2024 - HMS Queen Elizabeth does not make it to Nato
HMS Queen Elizabeth was due to take part in the largest Nato exercise since the Cold War in February, but was pulled at the last minute due to an issue with its propeller.
Manufacturing the warship cost around £3 billion.
The carrier was replaced with HMS Prince of Wales, which was then delayed in its departure, but eventually made it to the exercise, which was attended by more than 40 vessels.
The setback came 18 months after HMS Prince of Wales broke down off the Isle of Wight, when it also suffered a malfunction with a coupling on its starboard propeller.
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