Russia deploys dolphins to protect ships in the Black Sea
Military dolphins were discovered at the entrance to the port of Sevastopol – Photo: THE TIMES
According to the newspaper Guardianthe US Naval Institute (USNI) reviewed satellite imagery of the Russian naval base at the port of Sevastopol and concluded that two dolphin cages were moved to this base in February, when Russia began its military operation. affairs in Ukraine.
Russia has a history of training dolphins for military purposes, using these aquatic mammals to detect mines or intercept enemy divers.
The Sevastopol naval base is very important to the Russian military, as it is located at the southern tip of the Crimean peninsula. According to USNI analysis, many Russian ships are anchored in Sevastopol because they are out of range of missiles. However, ships are still vulnerable to attack from under the sea.
Ukraine has also trained dolphins at an aquarium near Sevastopol, in a program that dates back to the Soviet era and was canceled in the 1990s.
The Sevastopol program was revived by the Ukrainian navy in 2012. However, these dolphins came under Russian control in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea.
Ukraine has made a request to return the dolphins but has not been successful.
News agency RIA Novosti reported that Moscow at that time was planning to expand the use of dolphins for military purposes.
“Our experts have developed new devices that can convert the dolphin’s underwater sonar detection of targets into a signal to the operator’s screen,” a source told the company. Russian news agency RIA.
Two years later, the Russian navy announced plans to purchase five more dolphins, starting the bidding process for a contract of 1.75 million rubles ($21,000) to deliver the dolphins to the Sevastopol base.
Satellite images from 2018 show that Russia also used dolphins at their naval base in the city of Tartus during the Syrian war.
Dolphins aren’t the only ocean creatures the Russian military may have trained. A beluga whale was discovered by fishermen off the coast of Norway in 2019, suspected of being trained by the Russian navy.
The fishermen said the beluga whale was wearing a strange harness, possibly a camera, harassing their boat.
During the Cold War, not only the Soviet Union but also the United States developed the use of dolphins capable of detecting underwater objects such as mines.
The US has spent at least $28 million maintaining its own army of dolphins and sea lions – trainable species – to aid them in conflicts.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: tuoitre.vn – Read the original article here
