Guests James Langan, Andrew Rolander, and co-host Jahara ‘Franky’ Matisek join Dave Brown to discuss Maritime Sabotage; the deliberate targeting of undersea, pipelines, ports and energy hubs. It’s a story of hidden infrastructure, high stakes and shadowy actors who operate just below the threshold of open war – i.e., maritime irregular warfare.

Articles:

• What is known about the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions?, N. Adomaitis & J. Ahlander, Reuters, 22 Aug 2025 (possible paywall)
• Italian police arrest Ukrainian man over Nord Stream pipelines blast, K. Connolly, Guardian, 21 Aug 2025
• How NATO Patrols the Sea for Suspected Russian Sabotage, D. Michaels, WSJ, 30 Mar 2025 (paywall)
• Maritime Sabotage: Lessons Learned and Implications for Strategic Competition, A. Powel et al, CNA, October 2021
• Implementing Agreement to Enhance Protection of Critical Undersea Infrastructure, R. Pedrozo, Stockton Center for International Law, 106 INT’L L. STUD. 146 (2025)
• Irregular Warfare on the Sea Floor and the Case for National Resilience, A. Rolander, SWJ, 30 May 2025
• How to Counter Chinese Sabotage of Taiwan’s Undersea Cables, T. Boyle, Just Security, 20 May 2025
• Sensors, AI Possible Solutions to Preventing Undersea Cable Sabotage, S. Magnuson, National Defense Magazine, 13 May 2025

Guests:

Lt. Col. Jahara "Franky" Matisek, Ph.D. is a command pilot with over 3,700 hours in the C-17, E-11 BACN, T-6 and T-53 and is a Project Mercury innovation coach. He was recently a military professor in the National Security Affairs Department at the U.S. Naval War College and served at the U.S. Air Force Academy as an associate professor in the Military and Strategic Studies Department. He has published over 120 articles on warfare, strategy, and national security and been a Fellow at AFWERX, Payne Institute for Public Policy, European Resilience Initiative Center, Modern War Institute, and Irregular Warfare Initiative. He has been a Co-PI on three DOD research projects on security assistance and Russian influence operations.

James Langan is a military policy advisor for the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) at