Anti-Diver Combat Dolphins Deploying in Black Sea, Whales and Seals Also Being Trained: Report
Russia is stepping up its security at its Black Sea military base to counter enemy divers, according to British intelligence.
But instead of upgrading a surveillance system or adding new alarms, the country is “likely” deploying trained dolphins.
On Thursday, U.K.’s Ministry of Defence stated, “Since summer 2022, the Russian Navy has invested in major enhancements to the security of the Black Sea Fleet’s main base at Sevastopol.”
“This includes at least four layers of nets and booms across the harbour entrance,” the statement noted.
The statement added that in “recent weeks, these defences have highly likely also been augmented by an increased number of trained marine mammals.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 23 June 2023.
Find out more about Defence Intelligence’s use of language: https://t.co/ALCbH4WFSc
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— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) June 23, 2023
“Imagery shows a near doubling of floating mammal pens in the harbour which highly likely contain bottle-nosed dolphins,” the statement continued. “In Arctic waters, the navy also uses Beluga whales and seals.
“Russia has trained animals for a range of missions, but the ones housed in Sevastopol harbour are highly likely intended to counter enemy divers.”
In 2019, a Beluga whale appeared in Norway, and it was soon speculated to have been one of Russia’s trained animals.
The whale had a harness around its body where an action camera could be mounted. The clasp to the device had the words “Equipment St. Petersburg,” emblazoned on it, sparking the idea it could be a spy whale from Russia.
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Russia Deploys ‘Military Dolphins’ To Keep An Eye Out For Ukrainian Saboteurs At SevastopolA rare footage of Putin’s Spy Whale ‘HVALDIMIR’ spotted with a camera harness, allegedly trained by Russian Navy for Intelligence Ops.#Hvaldimir #Whale… pic.twitter.com/lBPFzFI5VT
— EurAsian Times (@THEEURASIATIMES) June 16, 2023
Officials believed the animal escaped from an enclosure as it seemed to be accustomed to humans.
Russia never issued a statement on the incident.
The whale, which was given the nickname of Hvaldimir, was recently spotted in May off the Swedish coast.
Russia isn’t the first country to potentially train mammals for missions.
The U.S. Navy trains dolphins, according to The New York Times.
The outlet reported, “each dolphin is trained to identify specific types of target — such as people, moored mines or bottom mines.”
Individuals are able to communicate with the dolphins through hand signals and whistles.
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