Australian judge rejects Daniel Duggan extradition appeal to U.S.

An Australian Federal Court judge has rejected Daniel Duggan’s bid to block extradition to the United States, pushing forward a case that has become a test of how far Washington and its allies will go to stop military expertise from reaching China.

Justice James Stellios dismissed the appeal and ordered Duggan to pay the government’s costs, leaving the former U.S. Marine Corps fighter and instructor pilot with 28 days to seek another appeal. Duggan, an Australian citizen, was arrested in Orange, New South Wales, in October 2022 at the request of the United States and has remained in custody in New South Wales since then.

The U.S. indictment against Duggan was filed in 2016 and unsealed after his arrest in late 2022. Prosecutors allege that between 2010 and 2012, while working for the Test Flying Academy of South Africa, he unlawfully trained Chinese military pilots without the export license required under U.S. law. Australian media have said the case also includes allegations of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering.

Duggan has denied wrongdoing and called the case political posturing. His defense has argued that he was singled out by the United States, but the ruling keeps the extradition process moving after then-Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus approved the request in December 2024.

The case has wider implications than Duggan alone. Training military aviators is treated as a national-security issue because flight instruction can transfer tactics, operational knowledge and weapons-related expertise, not just basic piloting skills. In a period of escalating U.S.-China tension, the prosecution signals that Washington is treating that kind of knowledge transfer as part of the same strategic contest as weapons exports and sanctions enforcement.

It also tests Australia’s willingness to cooperate with the United States on sensitive security cases involving former defense personnel working overseas. The outcome could shape how other ex-military pilots and instructors are viewed if they take foreign contracts in countries tied to China’s defense sector.

The fight has also become deeply personal for Duggan’s family. During his appeal hearing in Canberra in October 2025, supporters gathered outside the Federal Court, and Duggan’s wife, Saffrine Duggan, said the legal battle had already cost the family more than $500,000. The case now moves into its next legal phase with the former pilot still facing extradition to Washington.