On July 23, the world celebrates International Whale and Dolphin Day. On July 23, 1982, the International Whaling Commission issued a ban on industrial exploitation of marine mammals.
However, that does not prevent their use for military purposes. According to Sputnik, there are programs to train such animals in both Russia and the United States.
Soviet-era project
As early as the 1960s, the Soviet Union began researching the possibility of using bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) for military purposes. A scientific and research center was established on the Black Sea coast, and in 1975 the first "combat swimmers" were drafted into service.
Through research, it has been verified that marine mammals have fighting abilities no worse than their terrestrial counterparts, even their own trainers.
The animals are taught how to track down and destroy destructive underwater commandos. In the water environment, bottlenose dolphins act much faster and are more mobile than a person, even the most physically fit person.
Moreover, dolphins can destroy or seriously damage warships - there are special mines with magnetic velcro that have been invented for this purpose.
Bullets are mounted on the animal's back. Bottlenose dolphins just need to swim up and lean against the ship's hull so that the "death gift" sticks tightly to the steel shell. A hole below the waterline did not guarantee destruction of the ship but forced the battleship to be out of action for a long period of time.
The US also has a program to train aquatic mammals for military needs at a base in San Diego. Teaming up with bottlenose dolphins is the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), capable of performing even more complex combat tasks than dolphins.
Now, the US and Russia's marine mammal training programs are top secret. There are no official data on the military use of dolphins, sea lions or beluga whales.
However, last year, Western media repeatedly reported that Russia used trained dolphins to protect the Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol. Information is stated on the Navalnews page.
Reviving the top secret program
According to Sputnik, when the Soviet Union disintegrated and divided the Black Sea Fleet, the dolphin management unit belonged to Ukraine, and the program was supposed to be terminated.
In 2014, Crimea annexed Russia, the Black Sea Fleet base returned and work was stepped up. In March 2016, the Russian Ministry of Defense ordered five Black Sea bottlenose dolphins at a total cost of 1.7 million rubles ($19,700).
According to data from the information portal on state orders, dolphins destined for military agencies must meet the following requirements: the ratio of females to males is 2/3, the minimum age is 3 age, maximum 5 years old, total body length minimum 2.3 meters, maximum 2.7 meters, whole body skin condition with no obvious damage.
Training dolphins for military purposes was a proposal raised by Emmanuel Nobel, the grandson of the famous inventor, as early as the 19th century. However, it was not until later that the idea was recognized.
In 1915, zookeeper Vladimir Durov petitioned the General Staff of the Imperial Russian Navy, requesting the help of seals to neutralize underwater mines.
The Empire's Ministry of War was interested in this idea and after three months, two dozen animals were trained in Balaklava Bay.
Currently, it cannot be ruled out that the Russian Navy is also conducting research and training activities on dolphins for military purposes. However, the topic "dolphin warrior" is always top secret so it is difficult to predict.
