{
  "id": 18448024,
  "title": "Australia sends military aircraft to help fight Indonesia fires",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/australia-sends-military-aircraft-to-help-fight-indonesia-fires",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-06T05:10:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/11/06/australia-sends-military-aircraft-to-help-fight-indonesia-fires"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Jakarta, Indonesia is deploying a military transport aircraft to assist Indonesia in combating wildfires on the island of Borneo, which are generating hazardous haze that has affected air quality across the region, according to reports.\n\nThe blazes, which have persisted for months, have scorched extensive areas of land and have led to harmful air pollution that has impacted human health and strained Indonesia's relations with neighboring countries. Kristomei Sianturi, the chief of Indonesia's disaster agency, confirmed that numerous hotspots remain in East Kalimantan during a statement on Thursday.\n\nThe Australian government, recognizing Indonesia as a valued friend, has provided support similar to the assistance Indonesia extended to Australia during its own wildfires in 2020. This assistance includes a C-130 Hercules plane, capable of dropping 15,000 liters of water per sortie, or around 100,000 liters daily.\n\nIn addition to the C-130, Australia is sending a Cessna Citation aircraft serving as a guide plane, along with 20 personnel, comprising pilots, flight crew, and paramedics. The operation is set to last for seven days, from November 6th to 12th.\n\nThe scale of the fires is staggering, with the deforestation monitor Nusantara Atlas estimating that the blazes have consumed over 1.9 million hectares of land in the first nine months of the year. Experts attribute much of the destruction to unsustainable land-clearing practices, particularly in the timber, palm oil, and mining sectors.\n\nThe health ministry in Indonesia has reported that over 400,000 individuals have sought treatment for acute respiratory issues caused by the toxic haze. Japan also contributed to the firefighting efforts by dispatching around 350 members of its Self-Defense Forces, along with three helicopters, to West Kalimantan in September.",
  "summary": "The C-130 Hercules plane left the Indonesian capital Jakarta for East Kalimantan province on Thursday to join local water-bombing efforts, the Indonesian disaster agency chief said.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}