Russia trains marine mammals to protect the navy. Ships stationed in Sevastopol ports are out of range of missiles, but are potentially vulnerable to underwater attacks.
Analysis of the latest satellite images, helped to identify the fact of transportation to the Sevastopol port base in February 2022, two units for dolphins. The Guardian writes about the alleged training of “military” dolphins to protect the Russian fleet from underwater attack, citing the US Naval Institute.
“US Naval Institute studied satellite images of a naval base in Sevastopol harbor and concluded that two units of dolphins were moved to the base in February at the beginning of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine “- said in a statement.
Strange as it may seem, Russia already has experience training dolphins to use them for military purposes. Trained marine mammals were recruited to seize objects or scare away enemy divers.
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Such actions can be called for an attempt to protect Russian ships in the Sevastopol naval base captured in 2014 from potentially dangerous underwater attacks.
It is also interesting that Ukraine also trained dolphins in the aquarium near Sevastopol during the Cold War. And in 2012 the corresponding program “Sevastopol” was revived. However, due to the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, it was stopped. Ukraine demanded the return of the animals, but this did not happen.
Russia in turn “modernized technology and expanded the staff of the combat unit” dolphins.
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” Our experts have developed new devices that convert underwater sonar detection of targets by dolphins into a signal on the operator's monitor. The Ukrainian navy did not have the funds for such know-how, and some projects had to be preserved, “The Guardian reported, citing a Russian source.
Russia probably used trained marine mammals in the war in Syria, according to satellite images of 2018.
