An Australian Hercules C-130 began aerial firefighting in Samarinda, East Kalimantan province, on November 6 as part of international support for Indonesia’s forest and land fire response.
A morning briefing set the targets for the operation. Monitoring identified two fire spots near residential areas, which were prioritised for aerial suppression on the first day.
After each sortie, the aircraft needs about 20 minutes to refill with water. By 3 p.m. on November 6, it had made three water drops in Samarinda.
Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Australian government prepared one Hercules C-130 as a large air tanker and a Cessna Citation as a lead aircraft. The operation also involves 20 aviation specialists from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS), including pilots and flight crew.
The Hercules C-130 can carry up to 15,000 litres of water per sortie and is planned to fly as many as six sorties a day. The air support operation is scheduled to run for seven days, from November 6 to 12, 2026.
BNPB is continuing to coordinate the firefighting operation with the Australian team and other relevant parties.
