The eleventh HMS Vanguard of the Royal Navy is the lead boat of her class of Trident ballistic missile-armed submarines. The submarine is based at Faslane, HMNB Clyde, Argyll, Scotland. Vanguard was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd, later BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, was launched on 4 March 1992, and commissioned on 14 August 1993 in the presence of Diana, Princess of Wales. Operational history Entry into service The submarine's first commanding officer was Captain David Russell and the senior engineer officer, during build, was Commander James Grant OBE. Refit In February 2002, Vanguard began a two-year refit at HMNB Devonport. The refit was completed in June 2004 and in October 2005, Vanguard completed her return to service trials (Demonstration and Shakedown Operations) with the firing of an unarmed Trident missile. During this refit, Vanguard was boarded by a pair of anti-nuclear protesters who spent half an hour on board before being challenged. They were charged with damaging a fence which they cut to access the submarine. Collision with Le Triomphant On 4 February 2009, Vanguard collided with the French submarine in the Atlantic. On February 6 the French Ministry of Armed Forces reported that Triomphant had "collided with an immersed object". The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence initially would not comment on the incident, but was confirmed on February 16 by First Sea Lord Sir Jonathon Band. Vanguard had returned to HMNB Clyde in Scotland under her own power two days prior. Band stated that the collision had occurred at slow speed, and that there had been no injuries. However, both vessels had been damaged. Vanguard received damage to the outer casing in the area of the missile compartment, requiring repairs. Overhaul and refueling In January 2012 radiation was detected in the PWR2 test reactor's coolant water, caused by a microscopic breach in fuel cladding. This discovery led to Vanguard being scheduled to be refuelled in its next "deep maintenance period", due to last 3.5 years from 2015, and contingency measures being applied to other Vanguard and submarines, at a cost of £270 million. This was not revealed to the public until 2014. Vanguard eventually returned to active service in July 2022 after spending almost 7 years undergoing refit. On 16 August 2022 Vanguard was rededicated into the Royal Navy in a ceremony held at HMNB Devonport. Glued bolts during overhaul In February 2023, the Royal