International Fleet Review 2016 (IFR 2016) was an international maritime exercise hosted and conducted by the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

on behalf of the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

in February 2016 to improve relations with other navies in the region. The Indian Navy demonstrated its maritime capabilities to the foreign navies participating in the review. The President's fleet review is a gathering of naval ships for observation by the President of India who reviews the fleet of the Indian Navy. Past fleet reviews in India include a 2006 review conducted by president

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam ( ; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the president of India from 2002 to 2007. Born and raised in a Muslim family in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Kala ...

, the first public naval fleet review outside Mumbai. Two other notable international fleet reviews were held before 2016: the International Fleet Review 2005 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

International Fleet Review 2013 The International Fleet Review 2013 was a Fleet Review, review that took place on the week 3 to 11 October 2013, as part of the celebrations to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the entry of the first Royal Australian Navy fleet in Sydney Harbo ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. IFR 2016 was the second international fleet review conducted in India; the first, in Mumbai in 2001, had 29 participants. A total of 95 warships from 50 navies, including the Indian Navy, participated in IFR 2016. The review, conducted from 4 to 8 February 2016 in Visakhapatnam, was organized by the

Eastern Naval Command The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...

of the Indian Navy.

Announcement

Eastern Naval Command motor cycle expedition team at Jaswantgarh War Memorial

IFR 2016 was announced at a press conference in New Delhi on 14 October 2015. At the conference, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral RK Dhowan announced the Indian Navy's plan to conduct an international fleet review on the eastern seaboard at Visakhapatnam on 4–8 February 2016.

Events

4 February

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape. In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...

-laying ceremony was held during the afternoon of 4 February at the Victory at Sea Memorial.

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the ch ...

N. Chandrababu Naidu Nara Chandrababu Naidu (; born 20 April 1950), commonly known as CBN, is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He holds the record of longest-serving Chief Minister in the political histor ...

, Chief of Naval Staff of India Admiral Dhowan and

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

Vice-Admiral Satish Soni laid a wreath at the Victory at Sea Memorial in tribute to the Indian Navy sailors killed in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and a

guard of honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

paraded. Eastern Naval Command Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Bimal Kumar Verma and other dignitaries and representatives of foreign navies were present at the ceremony. The maritime exhibition's theme was

Make in India is an initiative by the Government of India to create and encourage companies to develop, manufacture and assemble products in India and incentivize dedicated investments into manufacturing. The policy approach was to create a conducive envi ...

, showcasing the country's innovation,

indigenisation Indigenization is the act of making something more indigenous; transformation of some service, idea, etc. to suit a local culture, especially through the use of more indigenous people in public administration, employment and other fields. The t ...

and potential. With participating industries which float, move and fly, the exhibition was opened to the public on 2 February.

5 February

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral RK Dhowan addressing national media at the International Fleet Review 2016

Naval Chief of Staff Admiral Robin K. Dhowan hosted a press conference at the Novotel Convention Centre, in which delegates from the navies participating in the review took part. An opening ceremony was held at

INS Satavahana INS Satavahana is the premier Submarine Training Base of the Indian Navy and is located at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Training is carried out by the Submarine School (SMS) and the Escape Training School (ETS) and the School of Advanced Under ...

6 February

The Indian Navy fleet and foreign naval ships were reviewed by the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces,

Pranab Mukherjee Pranab Kumar Mukherjee ( ; born, 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian statesman who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a pol ...

. Ships from the

Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and Exclusive economic zone of India, exclusive economic zone. It was st ...

and the mercantile marine and the

Indian Naval Air Arm The Indian Naval Air Arm is the aviation branch and a fighting arm of the Indian Navy which is tasked to provide an aircraft carrier-based strike capability, fleet air defence, maritime reconnaissance, and anti-submarine warfare. The Flag Of ...

were also reviewed. President Pranab Mukherjee during International Fleet Review 2016

The naval band presented a concert at the Samudrika Naval Auditorium. The Indian Navy hosted a presidential banquet in the

officers'

mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

attended by central- and state-government dignitaries, chiefs of foreign navies, heads of delegations, and Indian and foreign participants in the IFR.

7 February

A two-day international maritime conference began on 7 February with the theme, "Partnering together for a secure maritime future". The Navy conducted a parade and a 30-minute operation demonstration at RK Beach in Vishakhapatnam. Contingents of the Indian Armed Forces, the

Andhra Pradesh Police The Andhra Pradesh Police is the law enforcement agency of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Public order and police being a state subject in India, the police force is headed by the Director General of Police, Harish Kumar Gupta, IPS. The ...

, the National Cadet Corps and foreign navies and their bands marched in the parade. Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

introduced a book about India's maritime heritage during the event. The parade ended with a reception hosted by Chief of Naval Staff Dhowan honouring the prime minister.

8 February

An international band concert was presented at the naval institute as part of the IFR 2016 closing ceremony.

Participating ships

Seventy-one ships from the Indian Navy participated in the review, including aircraft carriers, submarines, frigates, destroyers, corvettes, sailing vessels, and amphibious warfare vessels. Most were from the navy's Eastern Naval Command. Twenty-four foreign ships and 50 foreign navies also participated. Delegations from Argentina, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Djibouti, Egypt, Fiji, Germany, Greece, Israel, Kenya, South Korea, Namibia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey and Turkmenistan were in attendance.

Green initiative

Bio Diesel Powered Fast Attack Craft Of Indian Navy

As part of its green initiative, the Indian Navy showcased two fast interceptor craft (FIC) which use

biodiesel Biodiesel is a renewable biofuel, a form of diesel fuel, derived from biological sources like vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled greases, and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made from fats. The roots of bi ...

and have replaced the

incandescent lamp An incandescent light bulb, also known as an incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe, is an electric light that produces illumination by Joule heating a filament until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb that is eith ...

s on its ships with LED light bulbs.

Passage exercise (PASSEX)

The International Fleet Review ended with the participating ships undertaking a passage exercise (PASSEX) in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

on 9 February. The exercise was conducted in two formations, with the aircraft carriers INS ''Vikramaditya'' and INS ''Viraat'' each heading a formation. The first group was headed by the ''Vikramaditya'', commanded by Western Fleet Rear Admiral Ravneet Singh; the second was headed by the ''Viraat'', commanded by Eastern Fleet Rear Admiral S. V. Bhokare. A helicopter from HMS ''Defender'' landed on the ''Viraat'', commemorating the carrier's historic ties with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Gallery

File:Indian Navy Chetak During IFR 2016.jpg, alt=Helicopter flying the Indian flag,

Chetak Chetak or Cetak is the name given in traditional literature to the horse ridden by Maharana Pratap at the Battle of Haldighati, fought on 18 June 1576 at Haldighati, in the Aravalli Mountains of Rajasthan, in western India. The story Hi ...

during IFR 2016 File:Flypast by Kamov Ka-31 of Indian Navy.jpg, alt=Three helicopters,

Flypast ''FlyPast'' is an aircraft magazine, published monthly, edited by Tom Allett, Steve Beebee and Jamie Ewan. History and profile The magazine started as a bi-monthly edition in May/June 1981 and its first editor was the late Mike Twite. It is ow ...

by Indian Navy

Kamov Ka-31 The Kamov Ka-31 (NATO reporting name Helix) is a military helicopter originally developed for the Soviet Navy and currently in service in Russia, China, and India in the naval airborne early warning and control role. As with all Kamov helicop ...

s File:Heads of navies and other delegates, representing more than 50 countries, attend an welcoming ceremonies leading up to India's International Fleet Review 2016.JPG, alt=Large, seated crowd, Delegates from over 50 countries File:Tall Ships ‘Sail in Company’ during International Fleet Review 2016 (02).jpg, alt=Sailing ships, Tall ships sail in company during IFR 2016 File:Passage Exercise (PASSEX) during International Fleet Review 2016 (05).jpg, alt=Ships in a line, Passage exercise (PASSEX) in the Bay of Bengal, 9 February 2016 File:MiG 29K in action during International Fleet Review 2016.jpg, MIG 29k in Action

References

{{Reflist, 30em Military exercises and wargames February 2016 in India