--- title: "National Guard soldier indicted in plot to send military radio to Russia" description: "Canyon Amarys allegedly agreed in writing to provide his services, including procuring a military radio and photographing Fort Riley." date: "2025-11-01" modified: "2025-11-01" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/national-guard-amarys-radio-russia/" categories: - "Military Branches" - "National Guard" - "News" tags: - "adsafety" - "justice" --- # National Guard soldier indicted in plot to send military radio to Russia ![A mugshot of Canyon Amarys.]() *Canyon Amarys. Photo courtesy Wyandotte County Detention Center.* 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 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 Department of Justice did not specify what National Guard unit Amarys belongs to, or what his rank is. The National Guard Bureau confirmed to Task & Purpose that he is a specialist with the Kansas Army National Guard. The Federal Bureau of Investigations led the case, with U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, the Kansas National Guard and other agencies assisting. A hearing in his case is set for Nov. 18. ***Update: 11/2/2025;** This story has been updated with Amarys' rank and National Guard affiliation.* ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]()