Aussie top gun pilot loses fight against US extradition

The father-to-six from Orange, NSW, is accused by the FBI of providing illegal training to the Chinese air force and money laundering. He denies any wrongdoing.

On Friday afternoon, magistrate Daniel Reiss ruled the 55-year-old can be extradited at Downing Centre court in Sydney.

"Mr Duggan is eligible for surrender I hereby order the relevant police to commit Daniel Edmond Duggan to a correctional facility," he told the packed out gallery of Friday afternoon.

He will be held in custody to await extradition under a temporary surrender warrant, with 15 days to appeal.

Barrister Bret Walker SC requested his client be returned to Lithgow for that period to be closer to family.

Family and supporters of Mr Duggan protested outside the Sydney court on Friday morning.

"This deliberate torture has to stop today," wife Saffrine Duggan said.

"They have done everything in their power to make this difficult for my family, to try and break Dan and to break us, but we will fight no matter what."

Duggan blew kisses and made heart gestures from the dock as the courtroom filled with supporters on Friday.

Tensions were high and some were ejected from the courtroom, with one accusing the magistrate of presiding over a "kangaroo court".

Mr Duggan is facing allegations from the USA he illegally trained Chinese fighter pilots for money in South Africa more than a decade ago.

He was arrested at Woolworths on Anson Street in October, 2022 after dropping his kids at school from the family farm in Forest Reefs.

In a series of exclusive interviews, Dan and his family have told the Central Western Daily he's done nothing wrong. They argue he's a pawn in a wider geopolitical spat between the USA and China.

Mr Duggan was born in Boston, and emigrated in 2002 after serving as a US fighter pilot.

He met his wife Saffrine in 2011 and ran a flight experience company from Australia.

The following year he worked at a South African flight school, where the alleged crimes took place.

A since deleted LinkedIn profile suggests he later lived in China before returning to Orange after COVID.

On Friday a petition was released with 25,000 signatures, calling for attorney general Mark Dreyfus to release the Orange pilot.

Greens senator David Shoebridge said he would table the petition in parliament.

"Our government should show some guts, our government should make it clear that being an Australian citizen matters, and that when another country comes for you, they'll protect you as best they can ... but we've seen none of that," he told the crowd at court.

"The Albanese Labor government has simply handed this Australian citizen, his family's assets, their home, handed them over to the United States with barely a whimper."

With AAP