Indonesia deploys foreign aircraft to fight Kalimantan fires

Indonesia is bringing in 35 foreign-registered aircraft to fight forest and peatland fires across Kalimantan, after local authorities faced a shortage of specialized firefighting equipment.

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said the permits were approved as an emergency measure. The National Disaster Management Agency, with support from the central government, has mobilized the aircraft. Most are heavy-lift helicopters capable of carrying out precision water-bombing missions in remote areas.

The foreign fleet includes aircraft registered in Australia, Russia, the United States, Ukraine, New Zealand, Laos, Vietnam and Canada. Eleven local holders of air operator certificates will operate the aircraft. The Transport Ministry said it had accelerated the approval process and arranged aviation safety monitoring and ground support so the fleet could remain operational.

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Fighting these fires is the top priority right now. In the short term, the fires must be extinguished immediately.

“Fighting these fires is the top priority right now. In the short term, the fires must be extinguished immediately,” Dudy said after a working meeting with Commission V of Indonesia’s House of Representatives in Jakarta. He added, “We need all the infrastructure required to put out the fires, including foreign aircraft that Indonesia does not currently own.”

Indonesia intensified its response after nearly 286,000 hectares burned nationwide between January and the end of August 2026. The disaster agency reported more than 48,889 hectares burned in six priority areas, while the Forestry Ministry’s SIPONGI system recorded more than 1,200 active hotspots at their highest levels in Kalimantan and Sumatra. Prolonged dry weather linked to El Niño and illegal land clearing have worsened the fires.

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We need all the infrastructure required to put out the fires, including foreign aircraft that Indonesia does not currently own.