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Nuclear Subs 'Collide In Ocean'
Jantastic noted a BBC report saying "A Royal Navy nuclear submarine was involved in a collision with a French nuclear sub in the middle of the Atlantic. It is understood HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant were badly damaged in the crash earlier this month. Despite being equipped with sonar, it seems neither vessel spotted the other, the BBC's Caroline Wyatt said."
The reality is that they now travel very quiet. The collision is just an illustration of that.
Indeed, Sherry Sontag's Blind Man's Bluff tells a lot of interesting stories about Russian-American submarine escapades during the Cold War. Sometimes our Navies seemed less like proud defenders of the motherland and more like dumbass high school kids playing chicken.
http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2009/02/ballistic-missile-submarines-in-deep.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/16/subs_crash/
Both were ballistic missile submarines. For those, following other submarines at distances where crashes are a significant risk is not SOP.
During the Cold War, France was giving up all sorts of NATO and esp American secrets to USSR. It is why they were dropped from the Military side of NATO (no, France did not quit it; they were forced out) in the 60s. I doubt that they would do it today, but you still have wildly differing attitudes about security. Certain EU countries really do not care if info about UK or USA make it over to China, Al Qaeda, North Korea, etc. , thought they get upset when we do the same thing to do them (for a tit for tat). Even now, about the only fully cooperating countries out there are US and UK, and then we both cooperate MOSTLY with Australia, Canada, and Israel. Then NATO comes after that.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Russians used to do what were called "Crazy Ivans."
Yes, we all saw The Hunt for Red October.
Ok, so I'm wrong, but that makes me a troll?
Christ, all moderators are total idiots.
^- that's a troll.
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US Subs at least, (can't speak to UK and French sub technology) are supposed to already have a pretty advanced array of non-emitting sensors, including very sensitive gravimeters capable of detecting and mapping gravitational fields around the ship (as I understand it, primarily for detecting and navigating around earthen features, but probably capable of detecting other vessels at shorter ranges), and a number of electromagnetic sensors for detecting things like mines, which probably work just fine for detecting other large metal objects (like other subs), and probably a few things which aren't supposed to exist...
That said, I expect neither the French or UK submarine fleet is quite as matured as the US fleet, just because of the sheer amount of moola the US has dumped into submarines.
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It's obvious you know nothing about nautical subjects. The nautical mile was defined as 1,852 meters in 1929, and every navy in the world uses this definition. It is approximately one arc minute of length along any meridian. All international treaties dealing with distances on water use the same nautical mile definition.
IAS, and while we listen on passive it is possible for you not to hear another boat in the water. We have patrol areas and transit lanes set aside to avoid going bump in the night, but shit happens.
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