The Russian navy has deployed trained dolphins to guard its naval base in the Black Sea and protect it from underwater attacks, according to satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies.
Satellite images taken on Thursday show two dolphin pens at the entrance to a naval base in the city of Sevastopol, on the southwestern tip of the Crimean Peninsula on the Black Sea. The pens were moved there in February at the start of the Ukrainian invasion, according to a review of satellite imagery.
The Sevastopol naval base is the most important and strategic for Russia in the Black Sea, located about 165 nautical miles from Ukraine's Port of Odesa.
Russia also uses marine mammals in the Arctic north, including Beluga whales and seals, according to USNI News. Bottlenose dolphins are used in the Black Sea.
Trained dolphins have been used in several naval operations for their echolocation capabilities, sonar communication system and deep-diving abilities allow them to detect underwater objects such as mines and plant explosives.
"It's not surprising that [Vladimir] Putin of all people would think that dolphins are a weapon of war," Andrew Lambert, a professor of naval history at King's College, London, told NBC News Thursday.
"Like so much of what we're seeing in Ukraine, it's the Soviet Union's work being re-enacted by the current Russian government."
But he added that dolphins do have the potential to be efficient spies: "This is their world, and they're going to find you underwater very, very quickly."
Both Russia and the U.S. have deployed marine mammals to carry out underwater searches since the Cold War.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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