This story is from 2013; read the story.
I think the Q reference is the CIA sub that was involved with the Hawaii incident that set of the 'fake' alarm that turned out to be real, but was only an (observed by a cruise ship) arial detonation intended to set of the alarm. I'd love to know if this is a good guess about the Q-Sub, or is a metaphor.
http:// www.newsweek.com/russian-nuclear-submarine-commander-says-he-sailed-near-us-coast-pentagon-848885?utm_campaign=NewsweekTwitter&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social