Australia sends 2 planes to help fight Kaltim fires

Australia is sending two aircraft and 20 personnel to help fight forest and land fires in East Kalimantan from Nov. 6-12, 2026. The aid includes a C-130 Large Air Tanker from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service and a Cessna Citation escort aircraft, which departed from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in a joint air operation with BNPB. BNPB head Kristomei Sianturi said East Kalimantan was chosen after a technical assessment because it still has many fire hotspots and the area under response has grown. According to the Australian Embassy, the C-130 can drop 15,000 liters of water per sortie, or more than 100,000 liters a day. The support adds to ground operations and weather modification already under way to reduce forest fires and haze.