HMS Trent seized 200kg of cocaine and other drugs in two operations that intercepted speedboats The Royal Navy has seized nearly £17m worth of drugs after it intercepted speedboats in the Caribbean Sea. HMS Trent seized 200kg of cocaine and other drugs with an estimated street value of £16.7m across two operations ..read more

Whoever wins the next election, a reckoning is overdue on the costs of Britain’s nuclear deterrent When Rishi Sunak visited Barrow-in-Furness on Monday he said the Cumbrian town was “mission critical for our country” because of its role building four new nuclear submarines to carry the UK’s nuclear weapons. If you believe Sunak’s erstwhile ally, Dominic Cummings, then that mission faces serious problems. Cummings, once Boris Johnson’s most powerful adviser, said this month – in characteristically aggressive terms – that spiralling costs were making a mockery of the government’s budget plans. H ..read more

Policy change stipulates ‘no patchy or uneven growth’ and allows length of up to 25.5mm After more than a century of having their clean-shaven chins inspected, soldiers and officers in the British army will be allowed to grow beards. The change in policy is not a chance for a hirsute free-for-all, however, as facial hair will be strictly monitored for length and grooming ..read more

After years of being dismissed when reporting high levels of sexual violence in the UK armed forces, women’s voices are set to be heard Jennifer joined the Royal Navy at the age of 29. She became an aircraft engineer, winning awards. Two years after signing up, in 2006, she was raped and she was raped again in 2011. She didn’t report either attack, she says, because she didn’t want to risk ­losing her career. In 2014, she was sexually assaulted by her superior officer and, this time, decided to report the offence. “I tried to make light of it, and move on again… but it wasn’t working ..read more

Missile embarrassingly plopped into sea at launch attended by Grant Shapps, but MoD says ‘anomaly’ would not happen in a war A Trident nuclear missile failed, plopping into the Atlantic during a test launch attended by the British defence secretary last month, raising questions about the efficiency and effectiveness of Britain’s nuclear deterrent. The Ministry of Defence said that an “anomaly occurred” during the exercise involving the submarine HMS Vanguard on 30 January that was “event specific”, implying it would not have happened in the unlikely event of a war ..read more

Warships periodically suffer from mechanical issues, although the UK’s two new aircraft carriers seem to be particularly unfortunate HMS Queen Elizabeth, one of Britain’s two flagship aircraft carriers, was forced to pull out of a Nato exercise off the Norwegian coast after pre-sailing checks uncovered a coupling problem on its starboard propeller shaft. Plans to set sail from Portsmouth on Sunday were abandoned and sister vessel HMS Prince of Wales is being readied hastily to take its place ..read more

Grant Shapps announces 15-year contract for UK arm of defence and aerospace specialist Thales The defence secretary has awarded a near-£2bn contract to use artificial intelligence and virtual reality to keep British warships and submarines at sea for longer. Grant Shapps has announced a £1.85bn deal with the UK arm of defence and aerospace specialist Thales to provide technology services to the Royal Navy ..read more

Calls to prepare for war butt up against record on recent conflicts, pay and conditions, and changing youth culture On Friday, soldiers from the British army’s Royal Anglian regiment were practising their part in a Nato exercise due to take place in Poland in March. It is expected to be the largest in eastern Europe in a decade, with 20,000 troops from the military alliance scheduled to take part in the show of anti-Russia strength. However, a rift between the army and the Conservative government meant Downing Street, unsure what ordinary soldiers might say, had instructed that no participants ..read more

Wiring error meant HMS Chiddingfold went backwards when set to go forward and hit HMS Bangor in Bahrain, say sources Two Royal Navy warships collided in Bahrain at the end of last week because one was incorrectly rewired, meaning that it unexpectedly went into reverse when it was set to go forward, military sources have said. The minehunter HMS Chiddingfold went backwards into HMS Bangor, which was lying at port, ripping a hole in a cabin above the waterline, in an embarrassing blunder that the defence secretary, Grant Shapps, insisted did not reflect incompetence ..read more

Footage appears to show HMS Chiddingfold reversing into HMS Bangor A collision between two Royal Navy warships in a Middle East harbour is under investigation. Footage posted on social media appeared to show HMS Chiddingfold reversing into HMS Bangor off the coast of Bahrain ..read more