![]() Parallel research efforts, many of which were funded by the Navy have shed light on dolphins’ built-in sonar abilities and helped work on electronic sonar that is critical to modern naval warfare. The program has produced more than 1,200 scientific papers. Wilson stated that the program will continue to study dolphin’s natural sonar in order to learn lessons that could improve electronic sonar processing. The program’s budget includes approximately $3 million for research on bioacoustics, which aims to understand how sound affects marine mammals. The Navy cannot eliminate its funding next fiscal year by implementing the 2023 defense bill.Ī Mark 6 swimmer-defense dolphin found in the Persian Gulf in August 2003. The Navy planned to fund it with about $3.5 million for 2022 - half of what’s needed. EOD personnel, or an unmanned system, then neutralize the marker. The dolphin drops a mark near a suspected mine. The MK7 MMS “mine countermeasures” dolphins work with EOD teams to locate and mark mines. The current budget funds it completely at approximately $7 million. Security sailors then capture the intruders, who are then tapped by the mammals. The MK6 MMS “intruder-interdiction” system is dolphins/sea lions that work together with security personnel to capture and arrest unauthorized swimmers and divers that could pose a threat to ships, ports, or people. It currently has a budget of $1 million, about half the amount required for equipment and personnel. This includes a diver’s drop tool or a training min that can be pulled out of the water. The MK 5 MMS “object Recovery System” is sea lions that attach recovery lines and locate Navy equipment. They train with divers and explosive ordnance disposal technicians. Wilson stated that the dolphins and sea lions are part of the Marine Mammal System. ![]() 22 graduate students or undergraduate volunteer are also part of the program. The program employs 54 Navy civilians, six Army veterinarians, and 220 contractors. Just over half of that - about $21 million - covers care and feeding for the program’s 77 dolphins and 47 sea lions. ![]() Wilson said that the budget for Navy Marine Mammal Program 2023 includes $40 million for “food and medicine, veterinary treatment, husbandry and facilities”. They can also zip through dense kelp bed, underwater obstacles and crowded harbors.Ī US Navy sea lion attaches an equipment recovery line to a piece. That’s nearly seven times deeper than most humans can comfortably do with basic scuba gear - without suffering decompression sickness. more than 1,000 feetAccording to SeaWorld and the Dolphin Research Center, it is approximately. Sea lions can dived 900 feetA number of trained bottlenose dolphins have scuba dived. It can also locate food, or, with Navy training to help, find human intruders or mines in the most murky waters.īoth are deep divers and can be seen often at the surface. The whiskered sea lion is able to see well and has exceptional directional hearing. This includes mines, enemy swimmers, and lost weapons. Navy personnel train them to use the sonar to locate objects that the electronic sonar might miss. This sonar allows them to navigate and find food. The program started with sharks and rays and sea turtles but ended up focusing on sea lions and dolphins.īottlenose dolphins were born with a biological sonar. A few years later, the Marine Mammal Program was established. It began working with mammals in 1959 for mine-countermeasure missions. Augustine, Florida opening featured dolphins performing tricks with fish-toting trainers. The first oceanarium with dolphin showsIn 1938, the St. How it all beganĭolphins perform at Marineland, near Daytona Beach, Florida in 1959.Įrich Andres/United Archives via Getty Images ![]() These have sensors that scan for mines and other navigational hazards.ĭarian Wilson, a spokesperson at NIWC Pacific, said that it may become possible to complete these missions with underwater robots one day, but for now technology cannot do all the things animals can. The Navy’s mine-countermeasures force continues to strugglewith aging equipment and is already including unmanned underwater vehicles like the Mk 18 Mod 1 Swordfish or Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish. However, they are still part of the mine-countermeasures system of the service, along with ships, sonars and mobile explosive disposal (EOD), teams. The proliferation of high-quality, inexpensive drones means that Navy’s dolphins or sea lions could soon be deactivated. A US Navy trainer with a Mark 5 Marine Mammal Sea Lion in Key West, October 1990Ĭongress stops the long-planned retirement Marine Mammal SystemsThe Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific at Point Loma Naval Base, San Diego, runs the program.
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