MOSCOW, April 21, /ITAR-TASS/. American military dolphins will take part in NATO's forthcoming summer exercises in the Black Sea, Tom LaPuzza, spokesman for the US Navy's marine mammals program, told the newspaper Izvestia. He said those would be NATO's first exercises involving military dolphins.

"It may so happen that American and Russian military dolphins will meet in the open sea for the first time: it is known that such dolphins are trained only in Russia and the USA," the newspaper writes.

LaPuzza says the exercises involving 20 dolphins and 10 sea lions will continue for about one to two weeks (the maximum permissible period for the stay of (naval craft of) countries which have no outlet to the Black Sea is 21 days).

LaPuzza said that when in the Blacks Sea the American dolphins would test a new anti-radar which is designed to "disorientate enemy sonars while sea lions would look for mines and naval divers".