US ex-Navy pilot with China links arrested in Australia

A former US Navy Marine who started Top Gun Australia in Tasmania faces extradition to the US over alleged ties to China.

A former US Navy Marine was arrested in rural NSW just days after Australia launched an investigation into Western pilots training Chinese military.

Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, was arrested in Orange and faces extradition to the United States after the FBI reportedly sought the ex-fighter pilot for his work in China.

The former US citizen who started Top Gun Australia in Tasmania was arrested at the request of Washington, officials in Canberra said, amid reports China has been poaching retired military personnel.

The famous Harrier jump jet, said to have been flown by former US Marine pilot Daniel Edmund Duggan before moving to Australia. Picture: Supplied

After British defence intelligence issued a rare “threat alert” warning China’s was trying to recruit pilots to train its air force, defence minister Richard Marles announced a probe into whether any Australian pilots had been recruited.

Mr Duggan was arrested two days later on October 21 “pursuant to a request from the United States of America for their provisional arrest”.

“As the matter is before the courts, it would not be appropriate to comment further,” the Australian Attorney-General’s department said in a statement.

Defence Minister Richard Marles announced Australia launched an investigation into whether any Australian pilots have been recruited to train the Chinese air force. Picture: Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Duggan, who remains in Bathurst jail until a November court appearance in Sydney, was sought by the Federal Bureau of Investigation because of his work in China, according to an aviation source quoted by Reuters.

The US Department of Justice, which has 60 days to request Mr Duggan’s extradition, said in a statement to News Corp Australia that it “declines to comment”.

According to the Top Gun Australia website, Mr Duggan was a US Marine Corps officer for over 12 years flying the famous AV-8B Harrier “Jump Jet” and serving in the Persian Gulf.

“As a highly trained fighter pilot, he flew harrier jump jets off of aircraft carriers tactically around the globe,” the website read.

Details of the US arrest warrant and the charges he faces are sealed.

While Mr Duggan’s lawyer Dennis Miralis would not comment, Reuters confirmed his arrest through court records and two police sources.

The outlet reported that Mr Duggan started Top Gun Australia, hiring US and British military pilots, to take tourists on joy rides in fighter jets.

He reportedly sold the business and moved to Beijing in 2014, and had worked in Qingdao as managing director of AVIBIZ Limited, “a comprehensive aviation consultancy company with a focus on the fast-growing and dynamic Chinese Aviation Industry”.