During the Cold War, the U.S. Navy attempted to weaponize sharks as living torpedoes.

Nature · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Long before they were pop culture villains, sharks were the subject of a bizarre military initiative called Project Headgear. In the 1960s, researchers attempted to steer sharks using electrodes to guide them toward enemy ships. It was a failed experiment that relied on the misconception that sharks were simple-minded killers.

The U.S. military's interest in sharks intensified during the 1940s, as World War II brought unprecedented numbers of sailors and airmen into Pacific waters. With the fear of shark attacks rising among service personnel, the Navy began investing heavily in shark research, initially focusing on developing effective repellents. By the late 1950s, this research evolved into more unconventional territory, driven by the intense scientific competition of the Cold War era.

Project Headgear, often referred to as the 'sharkpedo' project, was a classified initiative that aimed to turn sharks into guided underwater weapons. The plan involved outfitting sharks with a headset equipped with electrodes on either side of their heads. By sending electrical signals, researchers hoped to remotely steer the animals toward enemy vessels, where they would detonate attached explosives. The project was built on the flawed assumption that sharks were brutish, mindless creatures that could be easily controlled.

The practical testing of this concept proved disastrous. Scientists, including Perry Gilbert, conducted trials that were as absurd as they were ineffective. In one instance, researchers even tested the electrode steering system on Gilbert himself in a swimming pool to see if it could guide a human. When the team moved to actual sharks, the animals consistently refused to stay on course, ultimately abandoning the mission. These failures highlighted the vast gap between the military's perception of sharks as simple machines and the reality of their complex, independent nature.

Today, marine scientists recognize sharks as highly adaptable creatures that have thrived for 400 million years. Far from being mindless, they possess a sophisticated suite of senses, including the ability to detect electromagnetic fields and sense heartbeats. The legacy of Project Headgear serves as a strange historical footnote, illustrating how a misunderstanding of animal behavior can lead to the most unlikely of military experiments.

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