Warbirds Over Wānaka organisers insist the Raptors are not the first modern-day fighter jet to go on show. Photo / George Heard
By Katie Todd of RNZ
Plans to showcase F-22 Raptor fighter jets at Warbirds Over Wānaka have drawn condemnation from a former Doctors Without Borders worker, who says the display legitimises US military force and weapons used to kill civilians.
Two Lockheed Martin aircraft will take part in the Easter show, flown by a United States Air Force demonstration team.
Grant Kitto said a strike from a US Air Force gunship – also built by Lockheed Martin – killed his colleagues in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in 2015, at a Doctors Without Borders hospital.
Forty-two deaths were reported, including 14 staff, in what the US Air Force later conceded to be a mistake.
“US forces fired 211 shells into the hospital,” he said. “There were 105 patients in the hospital, 140 international and national staff, 80 were on duty – and the attacks took place despite the fact that the MSF [Doctors Without Borders] had provided GPS co-ordinates multiple times to the US Department of Defence and local forces.”
The F-22 Raptors were widely considered the most lethal fighter jets ever built and putting them on show in New Zealand was not appropriate, Kitto said.
“Admittedly, they’re amazing bits of kit, but they’re amazing for the wrong reasons,” he said. “It’s not appropriate, in this day and age.
“It’s emboldening and it’s endorsing, and it’s encouraging the US forces.”
Co-director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, Richard Jackson, said there was a difference between historic aircraft involved in conflicts “decades ago” and weapons of war still having an impact internationally.
“It seems odd that – at the moment when the United States is engaging in tremendous international aggression, attacking different countries, intervening in Venezuela to take oil, threatening to take Greenland, supporting Israel’s genocide [a description used by some international observers, but contested by the Israeli Government], and so on and so forth – we would invite people from that military to come to New Zealand and display their military wares in a way that kind of celebrates the technological prowess that they have in this area,” he said.
Lockheed Martin had been accused of violating human rights and causing a great deal of harm to civilians, Jackson said.
The company did not respond to RNZ’s requests for comment, but said on its website that a respect for human rights was at the heart of its work.
“We do have to ask questions around are we encouraging, are we accepting, are we signalling our agreement with the way in which these weapons are used?” Jackson said.
“Are we glorifying them to some degree, admiring them in certain respects, without acknowledging the serious harm that they cause in many parts of the world and the misuse to which they’re often put?”
Bringing two fighter jets to New Zealand also came with an immense environmental toll, he said.
“There are huge environmental implications of this. These machines are responsible for huge amounts of carbon emissions and, at a moment when we’re beginning to really face the climate crisis, I mean, is it environmentally responsible to be engaging in these sorts of activities?”
Kitto said he had written to supporters of the show to share his concerns. One of them was Christchurch Airport, which will serve as the base for the F-22 Raptors during the event.
An airport spokesperson told RNZ its role was “simply providing operational support to a flagship South Island event enjoyed by 65,000 people that injects over $40 million into the local economy”.
“In doing so, we are not endorsing any political position,” they said.
Kitto also contacted Queenstown Lakes District Council, which was one of the principal sponsors of Warbirds Over Wānaka.
Mayor John Glover wrote back, noting that the decision to provide the event with $25,000 was “specifically to support a waste contractor to reduce some of the environmental impacts”.
“That decision was made by a panel that included elected members and it is worth noting that, at the time of the application, the F22s and Lockheed Martin weren’t in the mix,” he said.
However, Glover agreed to meet with organisers that week to discuss the concerns.
“The success of the Warbirds event demonstrates its broad appeal and many would say it is not an endorsement of militarism per se, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be open to listening to other points of view or recognise that, at some point, geopolitical actions may impact social licence,” he wrote to Kitto.
“A key question for this event is how to balance a celebration of aviation, its history and a commemoration of those who have served in conflicts against the danger that the harsh realities of war are minimised or potentially morphed into a thrill-seeking experience that normalises war.”
Wānaka-Upper Clutha ward councillor Niki Gladding said being contacted by Kitto about the F-22 Raptors had shifted her perspective on Warbirds Over Wānaka.
“If we weren’t in the times that we were in, I don’t think I’d be thinking about it the same way, but given what’s going on in the States and the aggression, and the new kind of geopolitical context, it made me think about it in a different way,” she said.
Warbirds Over Wānaka International Airshow general manager Ed Taylor said the F-22 Raptor was not the first modern-day fighter jet to go on show.
He said a Royal Australian Air Force F-111 and F/A-18, and a United States Air Force F-16 had featured at previous events.
“We also showcase advances in aviation technology through our Future of Aviation exhibition, and have exhibitors promoting aviation-related careers in both the military and civilian sectors,” he said.
In response to concerns about the environmental toll of the F-22 fighter jets, he told RNZ that Warbirds Over Wānaka was committed to sustainability, in part by reducing waste at the show, and encouraging public and active transport options for attendees.
“We also contribute to local organisations working on environmental and educational projects, such as local waterway planting projects,” he said.
In a statement, Staff Sergeant Michael Bowman, public affairs officer for the F-22 Raptor Aerial Demonstration Team, said Warbirds Over Wānaka would mark the first time the F-22 had been on the ground in New Zealand.
The demonstration team performed at more than 20 airshows and special events around the world each year, he said.
Responding to concerns raised by Kitto and Jackson, Bowman said the demonstration team offered the public an opportunity to experience combat capabilities up close and to witness the skill and precision of US Air Force personnel.
“In addition to participating in aerial demonstrations, the F-22 demo team visits local schools and hospitals and participates in various community events to increase community awareness and understanding of the US Air Force’s mission,” he said.
“Our maintainers and pilots are dedicated to bringing the excitement of aviation to crowds around the globe in an effort to inspire spectators to follow their passions, just as we have.”
Aircraft of national air forces visiting New Zealand are subject to a diplomatic clearance process set out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Prime Minister is also required to approve the visit under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act.
The ministry said that included F-22 Raptors, which would be regarded as state or military aircraft – but no requests had been lodged so far for the Warbirds Over Wānaka show.
“The ministry has not received a diplomatic clearance request from the United States for a visit by a United States Air Force F-22 Raptor.”
-RNZ