Good question. For those who haven't read about it yet here's the Reuters link.newguy888 said:Whats with the chinese sub that was stalking the kitty hawk last month and we didn't know about it until it surfaces 5 miles from her on october 26th??
A couple things could have happened. These articles usually get started when some disgruntled crewmember drops a phone call or an e-mail to the press. The crew may be right in their recitation of the events but they may not have the whole picture. Much of that is fragmented among different groups and not shared with everyone.
I can see two Sonar Techs or Operations Specialists sitting in the ASW Warfare Commander's spaces looking at each other and saying, "No, dude, for the last time YOU have the port side, I'm looking at starboard!"
Or the battlegroup had a unit (not a submarine) keeping an eye on the SONG and just let it do its thing.
Five miles may be enough range to do some torpedo damage (depending on the attack geometry and the depth it was fired at) and the SONG is credited with the ability to launch anti-shipping cruise missiles while submerged. That would certainly cause a ruckus in the battlegroup and probably some deaths & damage, although it'd probably be short of sinking anything.
I suspect that the SONG was undetected & unexpected due to a lower threat condition and a tight budget. If there had been any of the usual indicators that China was out to cause trouble then the battlegroup would have been executing the usual anti-diesel tactics of spending a lot of money racing through the area at 30 knots and ensonifying the ocean. But now that the sneaky submariners have scored some dignity points, you can bet that it'll be tracked all the way home!