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Fascinating Claim: Navy Dolphins Were Being Trained to Kill Enemy Divers Using CO2 Darts

Jun. 25, 2012 4:45pm Liz Klimas

Some Believe the U.S. Navy Trained Dolphins for Attack Missions

A dolphin and its trainer in the Marine Mammals Program. (Photo: Wikimedia)

When many people imagine dolphins, they think of sweet, innocent sea mammals that make playful chirping noises and jump through hoops in Sea World shows. But, just like canines, dolphins can serve a purpose for law enforcement as well.

The website SOFREP (Special Operations Forces Report) has an exclusive today about the “Navy’s Deadly Attack Dolphin Program” — or as the Navy officially calls it: its Marine Mammal Program.

Dating all they way back to the 1960s, the Navy began training dolphins and sea lions to search for sea mines. According to SOFREP, there are five marine mammal systems — a grouping of animals trained for a specific ability. MK 4, MK 7, and MK 8 are dolphin systems; MK 5 is for sea lions; and MK 6 has both sea lions and dolphins.

(Photo: U.S. Navy Marine Mammals Program)

Brandon Webb, a former Navy SEAL who authored this piece for SOFREP, describes his own previous experience with military dolphins. He writes that his unit would work often with the marine mammals, although not much was known of what they could do. What divers did know of the dolphins is they didn’t want to get hit by one, according to Webb. He’s not talking of just a little slap though, but something more deadly:

There were always rumors in the UDT/SEAL Teams about the CO2 anti-swimmer cartridges used by the dolphins. The concept is a simple one: dolphin hits an enemy diver with a CO2 dart that injects him with compressed nitrogen, diver has an embolism, and diver is dead. It’s a very efficient and extremely hard to defend against.

I recently phoned two of my former colleagues who are still on active duty and asked them if they could confirm the rumor, and neither could. So I asked myself the question, did the US Navy EVER consider CO2 darts with regards to harbor anti-swimmer defense? I was shocked to find open source evidence that appears to admit that yes, they did.

SOFREP first points to a Wired Danger Room article in 2003 where Marine Mammal Program’s Public Affairs Officer Tom LaPuzza said dolphins were not used as lethal weapons. Digging deeper SOFREP uncovered a couple things. One of them is an old PowerPoint slide that confirms CO2 darts could have been used in the Navy– albeit the slide puts them in the category of “swimmer protection” along with Kevlar suits. This slide does not seem to be associated with the dolphins.

SOFREP points to this PowerPoint slide as mentioning CO2 darts. (Image via SOFREP)

Webb also writes that an anonymous Navy SEAL confirmed a “weaponized dolphin program” was in existence, at least in the 1990s. Here’s what that source told Webb:

We would do several dives a day and try everything to avoid detection, hiding under boats next to the keel, stirring up silt from the bottom, and hiding among pier pilings. Nothing worked to our advantage, the longest time it took one of the dolphins to find and simulate a kill on 7 pairs of divers was within minutes.

The dolphins would have their simulated CO2 system attached to their nose, they would then ram us in the chest cavity to simulate the injection. The dolphins could kill just with this force alone but the idea was to recover the bodies and any intelligence.

I actually saw one of the heavy gauge needles that attaches to their nose along with the harness and CO2 containers that were positioned just behind the head. They’re incredibly smart mammals and not pleasant to dive against.

The Navy’s Marine Mammal Program explicitly denies this on its website though. In a FAQ section, the Navy states it “does not now train, nor has it ever trained, its marine mammals to harm or injure humans in any fashion or to carry weapons to destroy ships.” Some of its reasoning for not weaponizing dolphins, it states, is their inability to tell friend from foe. It says the animals are trained more simply to “detect, locate, and mark all mines or all swimmers in an area or interest or concern.

Read more details of SOFREP’s perspective on the program here.

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Comments (30)

Verum Ad Potentia
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 1:09pm
HUA Flipper! Get some!

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black9897
Posted on June 26, 2012 at 11:44pm
Awesome. Like on the game Red Alert. Only real.

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facilitiesmgr
Posted on June 26, 2012 at 8:24am
This is great. If an animal can be trained to assist the process of national defense, why not? It also isn’t any different than using carrier pigeons in the past or using dogs to detect drugs, explosives, working dogs (sensing seizures or allergic reactions or whatever). If things like this can to done to limit the risk to human life, keep working the program. God gave animals and man different capabilities, why not use the capabilities that are there?

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SnarkyMushroom
Posted on June 26, 2012 at 7:34am
How is this even a story? I retired after 20 years in the navy last year, this program has been going on since before I joined in 91. They use sealions too. It was actually a non leathal counter insurgency initiative. A cone was fitted on the animal in question, and when they found an unauthorized swimmer in the domain area, the swimmer was jabbed with the cone. A barbed needle was imebbed in the swimmer and as the dolphin pulled away, it relased a CO2 inflated bout which hauled the swimmer to the surface. Think of it like reverse fishing.

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MRMANN
Posted on June 26, 2012 at 6:20am
Don’t get me wrong–I’m no PETA fan–but I think we should leave the poor dolphins alone, at peace, to go about their normal lives. And I am not anti-war, either, but I do feel we should confine war to our own [adult] species.

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- Tukadoodle
  Posted on June 26, 2012 at 11:58am
  PETA is a typical liberal scam for money as they kill 98% of the animals they “adopt”. $23M last year and a PETA gal wanting someone to cut the throat of an innocent so she can film. Its really no different than using other animals during war like dogs and others. Dolphins are the perfect weapon and using CO2 is the only thing new. You bet we need all the best defense against terrorists swimming to our shores, and would not complain if a terrorist carrying a bomb was killed. We certainly lead the world as I was reading about them in the 1960′s and “old news”. I’m glad to see our hard earned money spent is for good use as they can do allot more than a diver with an air tank. no mater what. I hope Israel also uses them as its very hard to control huge mobs trying to swim to our or their shores. I bet a number of Dolphins can take out a very large group of folks in minutes and also can deliver knock out drugs so lets be clear. Sorry, but we will use Robots, Drones and folks will say the same things as you. “liberals” protest our “automated killing” just with drones. Yes they can attach bombs to ships much faster and without detection and always get away.
  
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adeleeeee
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 11:44pm
DOLPHIN is cute. My favorite animal in the sea world.

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soybomb315
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 9:44pm
God creates dolphin
God creates man
God gives man dominion over the dolphin
Man uses dolphin to kill man

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- lukerw
  Posted on June 25, 2012 at 10:15pm
  Old News… 15 years ago!
  
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docmacs411
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 8:30pm
Yawn, old news. Anyone who has any knowledge of a certain base in a certain town knows all about the program.

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JACKTHETOAD
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 7:37pm
I’m pretty sure that’s a porpoise in the pic, not a dolphin. Regardless, MAMMALS RULE!

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- Elena2010
  Posted on June 25, 2012 at 7:46pm
  Looks like an Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphin to me.
  
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tckid17
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 6:42pm
That’s one way the Dolphins can win the AFC East.

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- onegodinkansas
  Posted on June 25, 2012 at 6:50pm
  Dude, that’s funny. Thanks.
  
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RJJinGadsden
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 6:37pm
This is nothing new. The Navy had the same practice around ships at moor to prevent divers from attaching limpet mines.

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JACKTHETOAD
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 6:33pm
I hope they go after tuna fishermen. (I wonder if they tried to train Bottlenoses? They go after and ram sharks. Nasty buggers.) :)

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thegodfather
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 6:24pm
I tried telling my friends a dolphin took a shot at me years ago, swimming at a Cancun beach….but did they believe me?…Nooooo

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- Elena2010
  Posted on June 25, 2012 at 7:47pm
  It probably wanted to use you as a beach ball. Young males are quite aggressive.
  
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Woogie
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 6:10pm
Given me fricken sharks with lasers on their heads

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HorseCrazy
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 5:24pm
this is gay just like the future of our armed forces, I pray for those especially my friends and family serving during these times of great world wide uncertainty. how many dolphin assasinations are there going to be…um none ever. just a useless waste of money that could be used to train more actual navy seals. welcome to the gay usa where athiests rule and pc prevails. watch peta will put an end to the queer dolphin program. nice leaking of the gay dolphin program though

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perry1980
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 5:12pm
Don’t PI$$ OFF Flipper!

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scuba13
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 5:12pm
PETA is not going to be happy about this.

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- Wolfgang the Gray
  Posted on June 25, 2012 at 8:30pm
  PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals). Especially with BBQ sauce. /8-)
  
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Dismayed Veteran
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 5:12pm
Shouldn’t SEALS be using you know, seals?

Remember “Sea Hunt” with Lloyd Bridges? Dolphins were featured in the show.

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forthepeople
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 5:08pm
Man is truly the evil one here and in all of nature there is no creature more diabolical !

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Elena2010
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 5:04pm
If it’s classified information, why is this blabbermouth telling?

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- HorseCrazy
  Posted on June 25, 2012 at 9:12pm
  because no one can keep a secret this days. lack of character and disregard for ethics in this “give me attention now” society
  
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SquidVetOhio
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 5:01pm
How about sharks with fricken lasers on their heads?

Go Navy!

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ltdan
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 4:56pm
If it keeps Americans safe, then I say kudos! God bless our military and all of those who serve under our flag of freedom.

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carpee
Posted on June 25, 2012 at 4:56pm
this is awesome.

austin powers type stuff

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