All the latest technology and training in the world was apparently no match for the shallow waters near Skye. The BBC says the Royal Navy’s newest, biggest and most powerful attack submarine — the HMS Astute — has run aground and exposed itself.

Aside from attack capabilities, it is able to sit in waters off the coast undetected, delivering the UK’s special forces where needed or even listening to mobile phone conversations.

Unless, of course, it runs aground. Well, at least out of those three capabilities they can still listen to phone conversations.

There is some chance the mistake is related to a new “platform management system”.

Speaking to the BBC last month, HMS Astute’s commanding officer, Commander Andy Coles, said: “We have a brand new method of controlling the submarine, which is by platform management system, rather than the old conventional way of doing everything of using your hands.

“This is all fly-by-wire technology including only an auto pilot rather than a steering column.”

Auto pilot? Every auto pilot I ever have used at sea has failed. The phrase also brings to mind the Exxon Valdez disaster, which was related to late night maneuvers outside the shipping lane while on autopilot.

Some interesting trivia about the HMS Astute can be found on Marine Buzz:

1. Longer than 10 London buses
2. Wider than 4 London buses
3. Consumes 18,000 sausages every 10 weeks*, yet only has five toilets for 98 crew
4. Produces oxygen from sea water and can purify the on-board atmosphere (see #3)

*approximately 2.623 sausages per crew member every day

Just when you thought stone and feet were confusing, now they have a London bus metric — 1/10 the size of the new class of attack submarine, and 1/4 the width. The next time a bus is late it will be hard not to say “maybe it ran aground”.

The Royal Navy boasts about their sub technology in the following video:

“We are something different. Something for the 21st Century.”