Hundred of Whales and Dolphins will Die from US Navy's Open-sea Tests [VIDEO]

The US Navy expects hundreds of whales and dolphins will die as a direct result of its open-sea bombing drills and sonar activities between 2014 and 2019, according to two environmental impact reports it released this week.

Deaths of marine mammals, which computer models predict will total 186 whales and dolphins off the US east coast and another 155 off the coast of Hawaii and Southern California, will be collateral damage in what the Navy contends are critical operations to insure its members are trained.

Most of the 341 projected cetacean deaths will be the result of explosions, though some animals may die by being hit by ships of as a result of sonar testing, according to Russia Today (RT), which added that larger species are particularly vulnerable to the Navy activities.

Thousands, if not millions, more marine mammals will be affected by the activities, whether it's a dolphin being unable to use a particular feeding ground, or the by a whale being scared into a state of panic, RT reported, adding that the Navy said there will be about 28 million "minor instances" of behavior change as a result of the testing.

With its planned activities affecting so many millions of marine organisms, collateral damage of a few hundred cetacean deaths is a number the Navy considers digestible.

"The Navy's analysis indicates that while large numbers of marine mammals may be affected by sonar and explosives activities, over 99.9 percent of the animals affected will experience only temporary behavioral effects that do not result in injury," Rear Adm. Kevin Slates, the energy and environmental readiness division director for the Navy, said in a statement.

The Navy has said it uses simulations where possible, but live exercises are necessary to train for real-life conditions.

"Without this realistic testing and training, our sailors can't develop or maintain the critical skills they need or ensure the new technologies can be operated effectively," Slates said earlier this week in a conference call, according to several news outlets.

The Navy's open-sea explosives and solar training missions have long been criticized by environmental groups.

"Mid-frequency sonar is an intense noise source that propagates through the ocean at the frequency that certain whales and dolphins are most sensitive to," Giulia Good Stefani, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NDRC), an influential non-profit group, told NPR.

NDRC policy analyst Michael Jasny said that the tens of millions of small disruptions to marine life are not sustainable for the long term health of the oceans.

"These smaller disruptions short of death are themselves accumulating into something like death for species and death for populations," Jasny said, according to RT.