Marine animals are used to destroy ships and saboteurs
A division of the Naval Information Center for Combat Operations of the US Navy recently conducted dolphin training in San Diego Bay. According to the US military, they will use trained dolphins and sea lions to neutralize mines, search for victims of distress and detect enemy combat swimmers. A military expert told the MK correspondent about the real potential of using marine animals to perform combat missions.
According to open sources, dozens of dolphins and other marine animals are serving in the US Navy. There are special centers for their training, as well as for working out the interaction of navy sailors with waterfowl “primates”. How effective is the use of dolphins to neutralize mines, if divers can cope with the same work – “MK” asked the captain of the 1st rank in the reserve Vasily Dandykin.
– First of all, the military uses dolphins as demolition men, since these animals can quickly and almost imperceptibly mine enemy ships by attaching explosive devices to their bottom, – said the expert. – Another of their uses is the destruction of saboteurs when they try to penetrate a protected military facility. At closed naval bases, for example, in Sevastopol, there are special underwater barriers. If someone tries to get through them, the dolphins detect the saboteur and with the help of a weapon attached to them, similar to a bayonet knife or dagger, hit the enemy swimmer.
Our facility also used to keep trained dolphins, which were trained to perform combat missions. It is still harder for a diver to work than for a dolphin. No matter how a diver or a saboteur is trained, they are still people, it is very difficult for a person to move in the water.
Dolphins can also defuse mines, because this is a very trainable animal, we can say – with high intelligence, which is able to dive to a great depth. But this is not their primary task. Using dolphins only to neutralize mines is too inefficient. Search and destruction of explosive devices can be performed at a decent level by unmanned vehicles equipped with artificial intelligence. They allow the military to do without these wonderful animals.
– Yes, even in ancient times. Remember, for example, the war elephants of the time of Alexander the Great.
During the Second World War, many trained animals, including dolphins, were used in different armies. In the Red Army, for example, minesweeping dogs with explosive devices blew up enemy tanks and thus saved thousands or even tens of thousands of Soviet soldiers. Of course, animal rights activists now consider it savagery, but then there was simply no other way out. Especially if we recall the huge human sacrifices that our country suffered — 27 million people died. By the way, dozens of monuments have been erected in honor of the fighting animals. And I know about dolphins, sailors even composed songs.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia handed over the remaining dolphinarium in Sevastopol to Ukraine and the practice of using dolphins to perform combat missions quickly came to naught. Many dolphins were sold to private dolphinariums, others died due to insufficient care.
– The problem was the lack of sufficient funding. Most of the ships that Ukraine got after the collapse of the Soviet Union were scrapped or sold.
Dolphins are not ships, but living creatures. They need to be constantly fed, monitored for health, treated if they get sick with something. The situation in the 90s, you know, was very difficult – almost no one had extra money.
– Undoubtedly, and not only dolphins. Other mammals are also involved in combat missions, for example, sea lions (a species of northern seals. – “MK”). These are not metal objects that can be easily detected. I think they can still be “targeted”, but the use of such advanced animals as dolphins can pose a serious threat to our ships.
However, for this, ships and vessels of the US Navy will need to come close to the Russian borders. Dolphins can be used by the United States to protect its military bases, which are located all over the world, but it’s hard for me to imagine these animals being used in the open ocean.
– Yes, at least in Russia. But in Norfolk or Japan, the US military may well train dolphins to find and destroy Russian vessels in the open ocean. They have the means to do this, so I do not rule out such a possibility.
– I think this applies not only to the Navy, but also to the Rosgvardiya, whose powers include the protection of the Russian coastal territory and waters, for example, the Crimean Bridge, as well as the naval forces of the FSB border service. The Russian Armed Forces are ready to give an adequate response to any challenge from our Western “partners”. The Navy can apply the Soviet experienceand to use modern technologies, and since dolphins are very well-trained animals, we will not have any problems. But at the moment there is no need for this – the level of development of sonar allows you to detect both saboteurs and small submarines that decide to secretly approach Russian naval bases.
– No, it cannot be called lagging behind them. Even before the collapse of the Soviet Union, we were on the same level with them. And now everything depends on the Americans themselves. If they decide to focus on destroying Russian vessels with the help of trained dolphins, the Russian Navy will use the same tactics as soon as possible or develop countermeasures against this threat. It’s about the same with hypersonic missiles, but on the contrary: we are ahead, and they are doing everything to catch up with us. So far, fortunately, they are not succeeding.