That is the Tremendous Bonker 9000, a 2S7 Pion that’s been outfitted with North Atlantic Fella Group (NAFO) memes and symbols. Troopers in Ukraine revealed the Tremendous Bonker 9000 to the world days earlier than Ukraine’s Protection Division posted it due to the NAFO on Twitter.
“We often categorical gratitude to our worldwide companions for the safety help,” Protection of Ukraine stated on Twitter. “However at the moment we wish to give a shout-out to a singular entity – North Atlantic Fellas Group #NAFO. Thanks on your fierce battle towards the Kremlin’s propaganda & trolls. We salute you, fellas!” The picture hooked up to the put up was of a cartoon shiba inu basking within the glow of a freshly fired HIMARS.
NAFO is an unofficial military of shitposters who gathered collectively on-line to speak about Ukraine, battle again towards Russian disinformation, and lift cash to assist Ukraine. Members of the group have spent the previous few months trolling Russians on-line and donating to varied Ukraine backed charities together with St. Javelin and signmyrocket.com, which is how the Tremendous Bonker 9000 got here to be.
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Signmyrocket.com is the outgrowth of a fundraising drive began on Telegram by a Ukrainian IT scholar Anton Sokolenko. He wished to assist the conflict effort and began enlisting troopers to jot down messages on munitions. For a couple of hundred {dollars}, Sokolenko could have somebody write a private message on an artillery or tank shell and take a photograph of it for you. He used the cash to purchase issues like earplugs for troopers and a automotive to ferry the wounded away from the frontline.
Sokolenko’s was wildly profitable and some different individuals in Ukraine have began to repeat his mannequin. In response to his web site, he’s raised virtually $300,000 from virtually 2000 indicators and bought 29 automobiles, 15 drones, and 4 Starlinks. The extra profitable he was, the wilder stuff he may get private messages on.
Enter NAFO, who wished to donate to Sokolenko. A bunch of the Fellas pooled cash and delivered a set of designs they wished emblazoned on the tank. They ran a web-based ballot to see what can be written on the barrel. Tremendous Bonker 9000!!! Defeated Tremendous Bonk! Motherboard has been unable to confirm the precise price of the sponsorship.
Navy shitposter, former U.S. Marine, and NAFO member @IamtheWarax instructed Motherboard he was glad to see Ukraine acknowledge the fellas on-line. “It is good to know that our shitposting and fundraising is appreciated, however recognition and accolades aren’t what we’re in search of. “A lot of the fellas are nameless, in spite of everything,” he stated. “This has all the time been about utilizing humor to help Ukraine by elevating cash for his or her protection. And we’ll proceed to try this so long as we’re ready.”
IamtheWarax stated he didn’t have something to do, personally, with Tremendous Boker 9000 however that he “did suppose it was very humorous to see a Ukrainian artillery unit put up a photograph of their artillery piece lined in fellas.”
The 2S7 Pion is a an artillery cannon fitted onto a modified Soviet-era tank chassis. The facet of the tank is roofed in NAFO memes, together with the avatar of major artist Kama_Kamilia. A large sticker of a baseball bat is on the barrel. The phrases “NAFO-Article 69,” are burned into the bat.
“Think about getting hit by a 203mm shell from the ‘Tremendous Bonker 9000,’ open supply intelligence account OSINTtechnical said on Twitter.
Sokolenko is, as soon as once more, upping the ante. His newest venture is getting somebody to pay $30,000 for an opportunity to jot down one thing on the facet of an Su-24 jet. NAFO, in fact, is engaged on getting their own message on the facet of a jet. Fashionable concepts proper now are “Ghost of Kyiv” and “What air protection doing?”
