War in Ukraine: Trained dolphins developed by the Russians in the Black Sea

THE Russia has developed trained dolphins at its Black Sea naval base, possibly to protect its fleet from underwater attacks, according to a new satellite image analysis cited by the British Guardian. The US Naval Institute (USNI) reviewed satellite images of the naval base in the port of Sevastopol and concluded that two dolphin fences were moved there in February, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

Russia has a past in dolphin training for military purposesusing them to retrieve items and discourage enemy divers.

The Sevastopol naval base is critical for the Russian military, as it is located at the southern tip of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. According to USNI analysis, many of the Russian ships anchored there, although out of range missiles, are potentially vulnerable to underwater attacks.

Ukraine had trained in the past Dolphins in an aquarium near Sevastopol, as part of a program that began in the Soviet era and was sidelined in the 1990s.

During the Cold War, Both the Soviet Union and the United States developed dolphin training techniques, focusing heavily on their sound-sensing capabilities, which enable them to detect objects such as submarines.

The United States has spent at least $ 28 million to maintain an “army” of dolphins and sea lions – which can also be trained – for use in conflicts.

The Ukrainian Navy attempted to revive the Sevastopol program in 2012, but the mammals fell into Russian hands after the invasion of Crimea in 2014. Kyiv then unsuccessfully demanded the return of the dolphins and Ria Novosti reported that Moscow was planning to the program.

“Our experts have developed new devices that convert dolphin target underwater sound detection into signals that appear on the operator’s monitor. “The Ukrainian navy did not have the necessary resources for such technology and some projects had to go on the ice,” said a source in the Russian agency.

Two years later, the Russian Navy announced plans to buy five more dolphins, launching a bidding process for a 1.75m-ruble contract that would include the delivery of dolphins to Sevastopol by the end of the summer. It is unclear whether the dolphins believed to be in Sevastopol today are the same as those purchased by the Russian Navy under the contract.