When Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s United24 initiative inquired if NAFO – the North Atlantic Fella Organization – wanted to raise funds and name a naval drone, NAFO jumped at the chance.
A new weapon named after a renowned raccoon is on its way to Ukraine to help defend its cities from missiles.
NAFO (North Atlantic Fella Organisation) has waged a social media information battle against Russian misinformation for months, raising hundreds of thousands of euros for Ukraine’s armed forces.
The lads, as they are commonly known, are a raucous group of online pals with a taste for dog memes and Shiba Inu profile images.
So when Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s United24 initiative asked NAFO if they wanted to generate funds to pay for a naval drone – and name it – they jumped at the chance.
The challenge to the fellas is part of United24’s effort to amass a fleet of 100 sea drones, in response to what Ukraine claims were an attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet using only unmanned vessels in October.
It took the guys only a few weeks to raise the $250,000 (£205,000) required for one of these drones, which they appropriately titled Raccoon’s Revenge.
Why this moniker? It has a relatively long tail.
Last month, as Russian forces prepared to withdraw from the city of Kherson in response to Ukrainian offensives, odd footage appeared to show animals, including a raccoon, being seized from the local zoo.
Since then, “The Raccoon of Kherson” has become something of a social media star in Russia and a mascot for Russian paratroopers.
The men feel that the raccoon has not forgotten its Ukrainian roots, as Raccoon’s Revenge defeated HMS Bonquerer and Aqua Bonker 9000 in a recent poll of over 11,000 individuals.
NAFO men raise funds to assist Ukraine
Pete, a US Army veteran, and the current guy said, “HMS Bonqueror was my personal favorite, but the public voted for Racoon’s Revenge.”
He continued, “If a Russian vessel is sunk by a drone crowdfunded by NAFO, it may be difficult to find a funnier moment in this war.
With the hundreds of mortar and artillery shells, dozens of vehicles and artillery pieces, and everything else that we’ve funded, this is a fairly tough bar to clear.
Pete also manages the forge, a group of designers that make customized ‘fella’ avatars for donors to Ukraine.
He continued, “I’d want to emphasize the men in the forge who are responsible for the unique and highly creative profile pictures that are available for donation.
“Without them, nothing would be possible. Kama and I would have been unable to keep up without them.
According to some estimates, NAFO has already raised a million dollars for the Ukrainian military, and its tongue-in-cheek humor has proven successful online.
Their slogans and members are visible everywhere, notably on a self-propelled 2S7 Pion gun called “Super Bonker 9,000.”
United24 tweeted, “You did it, you amazing canines!”
“As of this morning, $255,546 has been raised for the #NAFOdrone!
“Thank you to every gentleman who made this possible, for every #nafofleet and donation. Thanks to all of you, Raccoon’s Revenge is no longer negotiable.”
What are the benefits of maritime drones?
So what exactly are naval drones like the Raccoon’s Revenge, and have they ever been utilized in combat?
Russia claims that sixteen maritime drones participated in the October attack on its Black Sea fleet near the Crimean port of Sevastopol, in which two ships were damaged.
United24 asserts that three Russian vessels, including the flagship Admiral Makarov, were damaged.
The naval drones supported by United24 are 5.5 meters long, with a range of up to 800 kilometers (500 miles), and can carry up to 200 kilograms of combat payload.
Moscow’s destruction of Ukraine’s power networks has thrown cities into darkness, including missiles fired from Russian warships; therefore, Ukraine thinks that naval drones will be able to damage the ships.
Paul Lushenko, a specialist on drone warfare and lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, previously told that marine drones are “simply another axis of approach” to attack Russian assets.
There are only so many target acquisition systems on even the most luxurious vessels today.
How do you prioritize targets, then, when you have an abundance of capabilities?
