During a press conference on 5/5, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine was asked to comment on reports that Iranian forces possessed suicide dolphins. "I have never heard of suicide dolphins. Is it like sharks with laser beams?", General Caine responded, seemingly making a sarcastic reference to a series of spy comedies from the early 2000s.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that he "could not confirm or deny" whether the US had suicide dolphins, but affirmed that Iran did not possess this type of weapon.
Iranian officials have not yet commented on the information.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a press conference in Washington on 5/5. *AP* |
The Wall Street Journal reported on 30/4, citing unnamed Iranian officials, that the country might deploy previously unused weapons to attack US warships, ranging from submarines to mine-carrying dolphins. This report ignited discussions about the potential deployment of dolphins as suicide weapons.
Rumors of Tehran possessing suicide dolphins have circulated for over a decade, stemming from reports that Iran acquired dolphins trained by the Soviet navy to attack ships and frogmen.
The US military has also long utilized marine mammals for tasks such as detecting sea mines or enemy divers. According to Kelsey Baker of Business Insider, dolphins are intelligent and possess a sensitive internal sonar system, making them effective "living sensors."
The US has trained dolphins for various missions, including mine detection and port protection, deploying them since the late 1950s. During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, some dolphins were deployed from a US base in Bahrain to protect naval vessels.
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A US serviceman rewards a dolphin after a training program at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek-Fort Story in 2010. *US Navy* |
In 2022, the US Navy considered canceling its Marine Mammal Systems program, which would have ended the use of dolphins and sea lions for mine detection and neutralization. The Navy aimed to focus more on advanced sensors and underwater vehicles.
However, these technologies were determined not to surpass the capabilities of dolphins. The dolphin program is still maintained by the US Navy today, focusing on threat detection and overseen by the Reconnaissance and Interdiction Division of the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific.
Pham Giang (Business Insider, Wall Street Journal)
