Prabowo Orders Large Water Bombing Aircraft to Enhance Forest Fire Mitigation

President Prabowo Subianto has affirmed the government's strong commitment to enhancing its disaster mitigation capabilities, particularly in confronting natural disasters like forest and land fires (karhutla). He stated that significant investments would be made to bolster these capacities. "I am determined to improve our mitigation capabilities. The agencies tasked with facing disasters must be strengthened," Prabowo said during the "President Answers" program on Wednesday (16/9/2026). Prabowo mentioned that the government is continuously increasing its helicopter fleet for more tactical responses to forest fires. Several large aircraft for aerial water bombing have reportedly been ordered. "We need hundreds of helicopters for water bombing. We need them. I have already ordered several large aircraft for water bombing," Prabowo stated. Prabowo also reminded that Indonesia is situated in the "Ring of Fire," a region highly active volcanically and seismically due to the convergence of major tectonic plates, making it prone to natural disasters. However, he also highlighted that Indonesia is blessed with abundant natural resources, yielding extraordinary minerals like gold and rare earth metals, which are in high demand. "So, this is perhaps a trial given by the Almighty, but He also gives advantages. The question is how we manage our country. Therefore, we must have an efficient state and efficient institutions," he said. Since taking office, Prabowo has committed to ongoing budget efficiency, personally reviewing the budgets of each ministry. He noted that he had eliminated significant budgets allocated for ministry anniversaries, redirecting those funds to productive programs. According to Prabowo, the state managed to save over Rp 300 trillion in the first year of his administration, with these savings being channeled into supporting productive programs.