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US Guardsman Charged with Plot to Supply Helicopter Equipment to Russia

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Roman Kohanets
News Writer
US Guardsman Charged with Plot to Supply Helicopter Equipment to Russia
Canyon Anthony Amarys, a Kansas National Guard member, was charged with attempting to provide military equipment and information to Russia. (Photo: US Army/handout)

A Kansas National Guard member has been indicted after federal prosecutors said he agreed to photograph a military installation at Fort Riley and acquire US helicopter communications equipment for Russia, according to a Justice Department press release on October 30.

The suspect, Canyon Anthony Amarys, New Mexico, was arrested on October 28 and made an initial appearance in federal court in the District of Kansas.

He is charged with attempting to violate the Export Control Reform Act, a law that restricts the export of certain controlled military equipment without a license from the US Department of Commerce.

According to the indictment, Amarys met in February 2025 with someone he believed was an officer of Russian intelligence.

Prosecutors said he signed a one-page agreement “to confirm his covert relationship with a Russian intelligence service,” and agreed to carry out two tasks: photograph a military installation on Fort Riley, Kansas, and obtain a helicopter radio so it could be used by the Russian military.

The Justice Department said that in March 2025, Amarys bought the helicopter radio and traveled to Kansas with the purpose of exporting it.

Investigators said he intended to route the radio to a contact in Romania, while understanding it would then be diverted to Russia. Federal agents later recovered the radio during a court-authorized search.

Prosecutors said Amarys told the person he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer that he had already researched export rules in advance of their February meeting, and understood that shipping the item overseas without a license would be illegal.

The Export Control Reform Act bars the unlicensed export of certain defense-related items, including aircraft communications systems, because they are considered controlled technology.

The FBI Kansas City field office is leading the investigation. The US Army Counterintelligence Command, the Kansas National Guard, the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security, and the US Postal Inspection Service are assisting, the Justice Department said.

Assistant US Attorney Scott Rask of the District of Kansas and Trial Attorney David Ryan of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control

Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department said Amarys faces federal charges related to attempted unlawful export; conviction under the Export Control Reform Act can carry significant prison time and fines.

Earlier, it was reported that Russian intelligence services have been escalating recruitment and covert tasking of individuals in NATO countries, with German counterintelligence warning that Russian operatives try to contact military personnel and acquire sensitive information or assistance using Cold War–style methods.

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