Daniel Duggan, a former Marine Corps pilot accused of providing China with military training, flew Harrier jets similar to this one departing Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., March 12, 2026. (Perri Wood/U.S. Marine Corps)
The United States can extradite a former Marine Corps fighter pilot accused of providing China with military training, an Australian court has ruled.
Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen, was arrested in the state of New South Wales in 2022 at the U.S. government’s request.
His detention followed reports that dozens of British pilots were recruited to teach the Chinese military how to defeat western warplanes and helicopters.
The former Harrier “jump jet” pilot is accused of conspiracy to unlawfully export defense services to China, conspiracy to launder money and violations of the arms control act, according to Thursday’s decision by Justice James Stellios in the Federal Court of Australia.
The maximum penalty for the charges is 65 years imprisonment, according to the judgment.
Duggan, who denies the charges, has been held in a maximum-security prison during the legal challenge, The Australian newspaper reported Thursday.
The Australian government is aware of the court’s decision, according to a statement Thursday from Australian Attorney-General Michelle Rowland’s office.
“Duggan will remain in extradition custody in Australia until his surrender to the United States of America,” the statement said.
Duggan served as a Harrier pilot from April 1989 to September 2002 with a deployment to Kuwait in 1999, according to the Marine Corps.
The father of six renounced his U.S. citizenship more than a decade ago and has been a permanent Australian resident since 2002, The Australian reported at the time of his arrest.
The allegations against him stem from work he did with the Test Flying Academy of South Africa between 2010 and 2012, according to the newspaper.
A legal clerk for Duggan, Lynn Stocker, spoke outside the court on Thursday, the newspaper reported that day.
“Now it is a decision for the Prime Minister whether he wants to send an Australian citizen who has already been in prison for three and a half years into the hands of the Trump administration who has taken a close interest in this matter,” she said, according to the report.
The U.S. Department of Justice did not respond to an emailed request for comment outside of business hours in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
