This could be now of the most interesting military news of this year.
Last week Norwegian fishermen came across a beluga which had a special harness.
The fishermen freed the whale from the harness which seems to have markings that suggest
it came from St. Petersburg, Russia.
The initial finding point to the fact that Russia may be training whales for military
purposes in the Arctic region.
The incident comes when the relation between Norway and Russia at a crossroad.
Norway has been criticizing Russia for some time now over carrying out activities like
electronic jamming and mock air strikes radar facility in Norway.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes probable use of beluga whale by Russian Navy.
Let’s get started.
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On Apr. 24, 2019 fishermen saw the whale near Ingøy island in Norway’s far north which
seemed to be in some kind of agony.
One of the fishermen jumped into the water and cut off a harness which was attached to it.
On Apr. 26, 2019, Norwegian state broadcaster NRK reported on the incident for the first time.
The beluga was reportedly coming up to boats and scraping up along the side of them in
an apparent attempt to get the gear off.
Other individuals had reported seeing it in the same area as early as Apr. 22, 2019.
Fisherman Joar Hesten told NRK, “It came over to us, and as it approached, we saw that
it had some sort of harness on it.
It always searches for boats and people, and then it comes all the way to the boat and
tries to rub the straps off.”
Mr. Hesten added his observation that the beluga was very tame, indicating that it may
have been in captivity for a long time.
As per NRK at the time of the incident, there was no equipment, but the harness seems to
have a mount which could be used to attach a camera or some other type of device.
The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has also released a picture that seems to show
a hook with which the whale may be trained to latch on to something.
Other snaps have a marking of “Equipment” and “St. Petersburg” in Roman script as
well as a logo which has not been identified.
Viewers may note that belugas could be a valuable military asset since these are relatively
intelligent and can swim for long distance in cold waters and dive to great depth.
Actually, they can dive to depths of 2000 feet which humans can’t and even many submarines
can’t do.
A beluga could be trained to detect certain types of objects like a sea mine or a submarine.
If a camera is attached to it using a harness, it could relay live footage to its operator.
So on a basic level, belugas could be deployed for guarding military assets as well as carry
out reconnaissance activities.
It is important to note that the belugas are much smaller than a traditional submarine
and also are not something which is covered by metal layers on the outside.
So, they could be hard to detect and it will be even more harder to isolate if they are
normal once or carry any pieces of equipment.
During the Cold War, The Soviet Union had a naval marine mammal program based in the
Black Sea.
It focused on training dolphins so that they could carry out underwater tasks.
After 2014 when Ukraine’s Crimea came under Russian control, the program seems to back
on track.
It is to be noted that the U.S. Navy has a similar program and is training dolphins and
sea lions as part of its own Marine Mammal Program.
On Apr. 25, 2019, the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet had announced it completed a major military
drill that included around 20 ships in the Barents Sea.
It may well be that the particular Beluga may have escaped the training program or this
military exercise and in probability was trying to get rid of the external attachment on its
body.
Russian and NATO activity has increased several folds in the past few years in the region
In the past few years, both Russia and NATO have stepped up military exercises in and
around Northern Europe.
A resurgent Russian Navy seems to be getting more assertive.
Many reports point to the fact that Russian undersea activities especially submarine activity
has been increased many folds.
Keeping is in view, the possibility of Russia using mammals for military tasks assumes greater
significance and NATO may have to seriously assess the treat from this.