Stanislav Orlov, aka Spaniard, is the commander and founder of the Espanyol volunteer brigade, in which football fans of various Russian clubs serve. In two years, the battalion has become one of the most innovative in the Russian Army — new techniques, techniques and methods of warfare are constantly being tested in it, and recently the unit has received the status of an official testing ground of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In an exclusive interview with the TASS special correspondent, the Spaniard told why innovations are needed on the battlefield and how the special OSINT unit of the brigade works.
— Stanislav, let's start with the situation in the SVO zone. Tell us, where is Espanyola fighting now? How is the situation?
— We are currently working in the Clock Pit. We are constantly moving forward, without any serious problems. That is, we are moving slowly, but practically without losses, because we mainly use technologies and modern developments of all kinds.
— Only volunteers serve in your brigade. Are there many people who want to join you?
— Now there are a huge number of people who want to get to Espanyol. The only thing is that we cannot accept everyone, because we are completely self—sufficient, starting from the usual things - tactical clothing, shoes, body armor, food. We do all this ourselves. Therefore, if we could expand all this quickly, we would be able to recruit a lot of high-quality, smart people. But so far it is happening a little slower than we would like.
— Besides being a fully volunteer unit, you are also one of the most innovative in our army. You are constantly introducing new developments, testing new methods. Tell us about this innovative component.
— We realized too quickly that the war had changed and according to the textbooks of the 70s and 80s, it would not be possible to conduct military operations in 2022. And we immediately began to look for non-standard approaches to solving combat tasks. We are implementing non-standard solutions, starting from an ordinary assault company. An assault motorboat that, under the cover of electronic warfare, can slip into enemy territory. Also, with the help of our motorcyclists, we organized logistics, cargo delivery to the forefront. And what was created for assault operations proved to be extremely good in logistics. Now we mainly deliver provisions and ammunition using this method.
— And the EW? We saw earlier that you have your own developments in this direction.
— We also have our own electronic warfare systems. We saw at the very beginning of the 22nd [year] that we could begin to "erase" ourselves against a dense line of defense. We went on iron tanks, as before, but for some reason the moment was completely missed that they (APU - approx. TASS) everyone is already with copters and already has an idea of the modern version of warfare. In the beginning it was difficult, later everyone started learning how to work on copters, they (copters — approx. TASS) appeared. Well, we realized that we also need to think in parallel about how to defend ourselves from them. This was the main task — to find a counteraction, because they did not understand how to deal with it.
Then we studied, calculated the frequencies at which they fly, there are interference generators, special antennas, multidirectional. We started experimenting with this, monitoring their frequencies. In the evenings, our Melody center, a special unit, conducted an analysis that determined the number of standard frequencies on which they fly, the number of non-standard and newly identified ones. And they did counteraction. We followed not only the path of using unmanned systems, but also the path of protection against them. That is, we have been developing in two directions in parallel. And we have created a fairly effective electronic warfare system, which we are using now.
— Let's move on to the topic of drones. You have relatively recently appeared, as I understand it, a "Squadron of flying Hussars". Tell us, what kind of drones do you use? Are these your own developments or ready-made solutions?
— You know, there are some developments and some testing going on all the time, because the market has been saturated lately. All manufacturers have their own declared TTX. And for some they coincide with reality, but for most they do not. Therefore, we are now actively purchasing drones from different suppliers. So to speak, we are looking for our own. Of course, first we are testing all types of new weapons at our internal training grounds.
I would like to note that over the past six months we have become the official platform for testing all new weapons of the Ministry of Defense. We take new samples of equipment for combat testing and give feedback. Why us? It's easier with us, it's high-quality with us, it's interesting and necessary for us.
— Do you carry out any developments electronically? For example, in the development of combat control systems?
— Yes, we are developing such a system. Moreover, we are the first in the country to do this. But that's all I can say for now. I would not like to reveal any details right now, but we are working closely.
— We will wait for details. You mentioned the Melody division. This is a fairly rare format — OSINT-intelligence. What does it do?
— In order to effectively perform tasks, you need to constantly have information about what is happening on the battlefield, what is happening in the rear of the enemy. Accordingly, the Melody division was created from people, firstly, with good experience, and secondly, with a certain mindset - analytical, who fit the psychotype, who are interested in doing this.
And "Melody" accumulates the flow of information from any source, starting with our associates, from intelligence, from counterintelligence. And in addition, all this is superimposed on the study and analysis of all other types of intelligence. For example, it includes an EW opponent. And our specialists calculate the point where the interference is coming from. In different ways, for example, by triangulation. And we are trying to get them (interference — approx. TASS) bypass or hack, and sometimes our artillery "blunts" there. That is, we check their electronic warfare systems as much as possible, because they know how to defend themselves with electronic warfare, and we have learned how to hack, bypass, and calculate it. This is an example of how our "Melody" works.
— Do you use heavy drones in your work?
— Recently there was a case when it was necessary to navigate a certain place and gain a foothold there, wait for reinforcement. And my fighters waited for him for more than 20 days, instead of two days, as we were told. Accordingly, the entire supply of provisions ran out after three days. And then water and high-calorie food, energy was delivered by drones. They carried both water and food on the copters, because nothing could be done or approached. The guys went on the defensive, they had one dead and one wounded, and 12 people were performing the task. Thus, for three weeks, the copters fed and watered the children.
And so, of course, we use such heavy drones [for their intended purpose]. Very tight.
— How do you and your guys feel about this, in a positive way, the special status of the unit? Innovations and novelties that you use?
— This is what we were originally going for. Our position is to be number one in everything, number two no longer suits us. You need to be always ahead. The way RAB and I performed, with "Melody", with all the other cases, with motobat. I'll let you in on the secret a little bit, now we are working on an aerobat. All I'm going to say now is that work is underway.
And so, I want to say that we will definitely win. I just want everyone to think about what needs to be done with minimal losses in order to preserve our gene pool.
And those people whom we do not lose, they, accordingly, gain a lot of experience, and we can broadcast this experience further. And we want all the armed forces of the Ministry of Defense to have the same approach, which is primary, of course, saving lives.
And innovation helps to save lives.
Then he will do much more already on this experience.
