International Fleet Review 2016
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| Date | 4–8 February 2016 |
|---|---|
| Duration | Five days |
| Venue | Eastern Naval Command |
| Location | Visakhapatnam, India |
| Coordinates | 17°41′45″N 83°16′51″E / 17.695811°N 83.280709°ECoordinates: 17°41′45″N 83°16′51″E / 17.695811°N 83.280709°E |
| Also known as | IFR 2016 |
| Type | Military exercise |
| Theme | United through Oceans |
| Patron(s) | Government of India |
| Organised by | Indian Navy |
| Participants |
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| Press release | GWAW15001898_IFR press release |
| Publication | Ahoy IFR 2016 |
| Website | IFR 2016 website |
International Fleet Review 2016 (IFR 2016) was an international maritime exercise hosted and conducted by the Indian Navy on behalf of the President of India 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.
A fleet review is a gathering of naval ships for observation by a reigning monarch or their representative. In Indian events, the President of India reviews the fleet of the Indian Navy. Past fleet reviews in India include a 2006 review conducted by president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, 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 and the International Fleet Review 2013 in Australia. 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 of the Indian Navy.
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.
A wreath-laying ceremony was held during the afternoon of 4 February at the 1971 War Memorial. Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief of Naval Staff of India Admiral Dhowan and Eastern Naval Command flag officer 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 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.
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