All of you following me on Twitter or Facebook would have come across a lot of posts by me on the International Fleet Review 2016 recently. Well because I’m excited to witness the one of the finest display of naval might of the Indian Navy. The International Fleet Review is being held in Visakhapatnam – the city of Destiny as it is called, 11 years after it was last held by the Indian Navy in Mumbai in the year 2001. For me this will be the first of its kind event that I would be witnessing live in Visakhapatnam. Thanks to shows like Mighty Ships, Airplanes that changed the world, Air crash Investigations on NatGeo and Discovery that made me more inclined towards reading more about air crafts and ships. And with that same interest and enthusiasm, I’m all set to witness the fantastico International Fleet Review. So here’s a brief of all that you need to know about the International Fleet Review.
What exactly is a Fleet Review
A Naval fleet review is a tradition followed by all the navies of the world. The whole idea behind a review is inspect the fleet of its readiness and preparedness for battle at sea.The Supreme commander of the Armed forces reviews the fleet. The first probable fleet review dates way back to 1415 by Henry V who inspected his fleet before they went for war. In India a naval fleet review is done by the President who is the Supreme Commander of the armed forces. He reviews the fleet once in his term of 5 years. The first fleet review was held in 1953 and since then 10 fleet review have been held.
Why is everyone talking about the International Fleet Review 2016 ?
The IFR 2016 is back to India after a gap of 11 years and the first time in the port city of Visakhapatnam. This time there are 24 participating countries which include the likes of Australia, Russia, China, United Kingdom and United States of America. Here are few points as to why everyone is talking about the fantastico International Fleet Review.
- People we get to witness the might of the Indian Navy. Often not in the limelight, the India Navy is one of the mightiest navies in the world armed with some of the latest warheads. During the course of IFR2016 people will get to witness the likes of INS Vikramaditya and INS Viraat – the mighty and impactful Aircraft Carrier along side other warships.
- There will be an action-packed operational demonstration of all round capability of the India Navy. There will be warships, submarines, Air crafts and marine commandos showing off the might of the Indian Navy. There will be demonstrations of arms by various warships and rescue operations by air crafts followed by weapons firings by ships and aircraft. And this fantastico display of fireworks and action is what I’m excited about !
- The International Fleet Review will hold an International City Parade with marching contingents from the Indian Navy, Army and the Air Force, Police and NCC along with the foreign navies and marching bands of respective countries. Every country will also showcase its cultural heritage as they will march in their national colors.
So you see why I’m excited ? That’s definitely going to be an action packed Sunday ! I’ve heard that because of this event, Visakhapatnam has been turned into a fortress, and Why not ? The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Chief Minister of AP Chandra Babu Naidu and the Defence Minister Manohar Parikar will be present to witness this fantastico event.
I’m super excited to be going to the event and covering every aspect of the event. So over the next couple of days I’ll be busy covering the event. Equipped with my iPad and Camera, I’m all set for my voyage to the International Fleet Review 2016. Ship Ahoy !
This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.