US Combat Dolphins to be Deployed for Military Drills: Report
Local Editor
A spokesman for the US Navy's marine mammals program said American military dolphins will be deployed to the Black Sea to take part in NATO's war games, as the spokesman told Izvestia newspaper on Monday.
Spokesman Tom LaPuzza said that during their stay in the Black Sea, the American dolphins would test a new anti-radar, which is designed to "disorientate enemy sonars, while sea lions would look for mines and naval divers."
New armor for dolphins, developed at a specialized research center at the University of Hawaii, will also be put to the test in the Black Sea, he added.
LaPuzza said the drills will involve 20 dolphins and 10 sea lions, and will continue for about one to two weeks.
The war games are one of eight joint NATO-Ukrainian military exercises scheduled to take place this year.
The marine mammals will be transferred from their base in San Diego, California to the Black Sea via a plane equipped with a special bath, the spokesman told the paper.
This will be the first time in history that dolphins have participated in a NATO drill, LaPuzza stressed.
The exercise may also become the first time that US military dolphins meet their Russian counterparts in the open seas, as San Diego and Sevastopol host the world's only military dolphin training facilities.
The transportation of US combat dolphins to the Black Sea by air is a very expensive task which comes with a huge risk to the health of the animals, Yury Plyachenko, who commanded the Black Sea Fleet's military dolphins in 1988-92, said.
"There must be a very good reason to make the animals travel over such distances in a plane. We shouldn't forget that a lot of money was invested into their training," he told RIA Novosti.
Plyachenko believes the US plans are likely to prompt outcry from Greenpeace and other animal rights groups.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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