A National Guard soldier was arrested this week and charged with attempting to sell military helicopter parts to Russia, the Department of Justice announced. 

Canyon Amarys, 28, was arrested on Oct. 28. He was charged with attempting to give a military helicopter radio to Russia, in an attempted violation of the Export Control Reform Act.  He made his initial appearance in federal court on Thursday, the same day the Department of Justice announced the arrest. He pleaded not guilty. 

According to the indictment against him, Amarys, described as “affiliated with the Kansas National Guard,” reached out to Russia in 2024 to offer his services. The move was noticed by American law enforcement, who had undercover agents reach out to the soldier while posing as members of Russian intelligence. Amarys traveled to Kansas from New Mexico in February 2025 and met with the undercover agents at a hotel, allegedly signing a one-page document saying he was offering to help Russia covertly. 

During the meeting, Amarys allegedly agreed to enter and photograph Fort Riley, the Army base in Kansas that is home to the 1st Infantry Division. He also agreed to buy a Garmin GTR-205 radio, used in military helicopters, accepting “thousands of dollars in cash” from the undercover agents to do so. 

The indictment alleges that he again traveled to Kansas in mid-March, having purchased the radio and mailed it via the United States Postal Service to Junction City, Kansas near Fort Riley. The law enforcement agents reported that Amarys was aware the radio was under export control and providing it to apparent Russian intelligence members was illegal. Amarys told the agent that he had researched export control laws ahead of their face-to-face meeting in order to prepare. 

Once in Kansas he attempted to mail the radio to Romania — under his own name — where it would be then transferred to Russia, he was told. Shortly after he visited Fort Riley and photographed a part of the base that had “sensitive military technology.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigations led the case, with U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, the Kansas National Guard and other agencies assisting. 

The Department of Justice did not specify what National Guard unit Amarys belongs to, or what his rank is. Task & Purpose reached out to the National Guard Bureau for more information regarding the soldier but has not yet heard back. 

A hearing in his case is set for Nov. 18.

The post National Guard soldier indicted in plot to send military radio to Russia appeared first on Task & Purpose.