Given the Chinese and Russian espionage efforts, is it possible an operative managed to get those two subs tasked to the same location at the same time?
If so, it was a master stroke, as British sub deterrence was dropped by 25%, and French deterrence capability also reduced. And, all was accomplished without any danger of a war, any risk of political repercussions, potential damages, etc.
Just wondering.
That is no less likely than both boats arriving at the same latitude, longitude and submerged depth independently.
I've seen comments from the E.U. concerning "collective defense" but thought both the U.K. and France were wary of putting their nuclear deterrent assets under any sort of "regional" control. So at this point, any espionage would've involved deep penetration of both nations' military structures, not just one combined headquarters a~la NORAD.
Who knows... perhaps there are features of the sea bottom that submariners like to use to some benefit, and that serves to funnel subsurface "traffic" into areas where these collisions are more likely than they'd first seem. Add to that the passive sonar limitations caused by thermal gradients at certain depths, and the probability of a collision may climb a bit higher yet.