Nine British sailors assigned to a nuclear submarine have been discharged from the Royal Navy after failing compulsory drug tests, Britain's ministry of defence has confirmed.
The service personnel, stationed aboard HMS Vigilant — one of four Royal Navy submarines equipped with nuclear missiles — were dismissed after all tested positive for an illegal substance.
"We do not tolerate drugs misuse by service personnel," a Royal Navy spokesperson said.
"Those found to have fallen short of our high standards face being discharged from service."
The spokesperson also confirmed the navy had launched an investigation into other service personnel on HMS Vigilant over allegations of inappropriate relationships, detailed in British media reports this month.
"We can confirm an investigation is underway, but it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage," the spokesperson added.
"Any allegations of wrongdoing are taken very seriously and will be dealt with appropriately."
HMS Vigilant is one of four Vanguard-class submarines in the British navy.
Each vessel is equipped with up to eight Trident missiles armed with nuclear warheads.
Israel, Germany sign submarine deal: Netanyahu
Germany on Monday signed a deal to sell three submarines to the Israeli navy in an agreement of "strategic importance" to the Jewish state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu "welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Germany and the state of Israel to acquire the submarines," his office said in a Hebrew-language statement.
"This memorandum of understan … read more
