By Sabrina Valle

NEW YORK, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Guggenheim Securities is expanding its aerospace and defense (A&D) investment banking practice with a series of senior hires as deal activity has increased, driven by geopolitical tensions and higher government spending.

The firm said on Thursday it hired Michael McElhenney as a senior managing director to focus on advising A&D companies. McElhenney joins Guggenheim with more than two decades of investment banking experience, having most recently served as a managing director in the aerospace, defense & government services group of U.S.-based investment bank Houlihan Lokey.

Prior to that, he was director of M&A for Honeywell Aerospace and served as a logistics officer in the U.S. Army.

Guggenheim also announced this week that Stephen Edelman, formerly head of industrials investment banking at Citi, will join in November as senior managing director. He will help build the firm's A&D franchise and co-lead its broader industrials investment banking practice together with senior managing director John Welsh.

Earlier this week, Michael Richter, who was hired in March, officially started in his role as senior managing director focused on A&D. Richter previously held senior roles as global head of A&D at boutique investment bank Lazard and as president of Jefferies Quarterdeck, the bank's A&D group.

(Reporting by Sabrina Valle in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)

((sabrina.valle@tr.com; +1 713-344-4181))