Aerospace
A former U.S. fighter pilot who worked in China arrested in Australia
A former US fighter pilot and aviation instructor who worked in China has been detained by the Australian Federal Police as a result of a request from the US government. That person was detained last Friday as a result of a request from the US government, according to a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office. It would not be appropriate to comment further, the spokesperson said, as the matter is still pending in the courts.
The individual has been identified as Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, who was arrested by the AFP in Orange, in the NSW Central Tablelands. His last Friday appearance before the bench was documented in court records. A subsequent court appearance in Sydney was set for next month after his request for bail was denied.
Duggan, a former citizen of the US, would probably be the subject of formal extradition proceedings. The arrest occurred the same week that the Australian government announced it was looking into claims that some Australian Defense Force pilots had been approached about jobs in China.
Richard Marles, the minister of defence, announced that an investigation had been opened. According to the UK government, the Chinese Liberation Army Air Force had recruited up to 30 former British military pilots for training.
According to the UK Defence Ministry, China is using third parties to find British and other western pilots to train Chinese pilots in-house, along with state-owned defence industry firms and research facilities.
