HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant submarine collision across the seabed". However, a government spokesman said that there "was no compromise to nuclear safety". Hervé Morin, France's Minister of Defence, said that they "face an extremely simple technological problem, which is that these submarines are not detectable". HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant submarine collision The submarines HMS "Vanguard" and "Triomphant" collided in the Atlantic Ocean in the night between 3–4 February 2009. Both are nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The Royal Navy's and the French Navy's both sustained damage, but no injuries or radioactivity releases were reported. At the time of the collision, both vessels were submerged and, according
Ballistic missile submarine per sub each year and at best one sub on patrol at any time. Hence the Russians do not use multiple crews per boat. On 4 February 2009, the British and the French collided in the Atlantic. "Vanguard" returned to Faslane in Scotland, under her own power, and "Triomphant" to Île Longue in Brittany. Ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – the "SS" denotes submarine (or submersible ship), the "B" denotes