Russia employs trained dolphins to man its naval fleets

London: Satellite images suggest that Russian defence has employed trained dolphins at its naval base in the Black Sea to protect its fleet from an underwater attack, IANS reported.

The United States Naval Institute (USNI) scrutinised the satellite images and concluded that Moscow's naval base at Sevastapol harbour now hosts two dolphin pens since February, according to The Guardian.

Russia has the legacy of training dolphins for defence purposes by using the aquatic mammals to retrieve objects or deter enemy divers.

Since the Sevastapol naval base is located at the southern tip of Crimea, it is a crucial base for Moscow, which seized it in 2014.

According to the USNI's analysis, many of the Russian ships anchored there, while out of range from missiles, are potentially vulnerable to undersea attacks, The Guardian reported.

The Guardian reports that the USNI analysis suggests that the Russian ships anchored in the area are vulnerable to undersea attacks.

Meanwhile, Ukraine also has trained dolphins near Sevastopol.

The programme of training dolphins is as old as the Soviet era. Both US and the Soviet Union used the marine creatures to locate underwater mines, using their echolocation capabilities. The US alone has spent $28 million to maintain its marine creatures' troops, which also include sea lions.

Though the Sevastopol programme was restarted by Ukraine in 2012, Russia took it from them in 2014 it captured Crimea. Moscow didn't return the aquatic mammals to Russia.