American dolphin warrior explores mines for 30 seconds

The US Navy trained dolphins successfully completed explosives detonation missions in the Pacific rehearsal.

As part of the RIMPAC 2018 naval exercise , the US Navy on 27 July deployed the Mammal Program Mark 7 dolphins to participate in a mine detection exercise at Loma naval base in San Diego, according to Popular Mechanics .

Picture 1 of American dolphin warrior explores mines for 30 seconds
Mines dive in RIMPAC 2018, off the coast of San Diego.

The 8 dolphins mobilized all successfully detected false mine mines set up in the sea, in which a dolphin identified the target location in just 30 seconds.

The difficulty of underwater detection and demolition makes dolphins a great candidate, because they are capable of locating echoes. Dolphins emit ultrasound and then rely on the reverberating sound to determine the location of mines or explosives.

The dolphin warriors are often transported to the area with mines by boat and dropped into the water to search for targets. After discovering, they will return to the boat to report and are ordered to use buoys to mark the location of landmines on the water. Divers will then dive to check and confirm the presence of the trap.

In addition to dolphins, the US Navy also trains sea lions to detect mines, find lost objects or even detect enemy clones.