..:: India Strategic ::. IFR: India's first International Fleet Review

British Prime Minister David Cameron resigns | Theresa May takes over as new UK PM | May becomes second British woman PM after Margaret Thatcher | Cameron announced resignation following Brexit, a referendum for UK's exit from EU June 23 | International Tribunal demolishes China's claims over South China Sea | Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague says China has no legal basis to claim regional waters and build islets | The Tribunal also held China guilty of damaging coral reefs and natural environment | China has border maritime problems with all its neighbours | China rejected the decision, saying it is invalid and has no binding force | India, Tanzania agree to deepen overall defence and security partnership, especially in the maritime domain | Both nations agreed to work closely, bilaterally, regionally and globally to combat twin threats of terrorism, climate change | Prime Minister visiting Tanzania in the last leg of his visit to 4 African nations July 7-11 | Boeing, Mahindra Defence open C-17 Training Centre for IAF | Terrorism is the gravest security threat facing the world today, says PM Modi during Mozambique visit | Terrorism impacts India and Mozambique equally | NASA spacecraft Juno reaches Jupiter | Juno crossed violent radiation and flew 130,000 miles/hour | Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system | Juno should be in Jpiter orbit for 20 months to send data | The $1.1 billion Juno mission took five years to reach Jupiter | LCA 'Tejas' joins Indian Air Force | Tejas is an indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft | The single-seat, single-engine, multi-role light fighter is designed by ADA and manufactured by HAL | India test-fires new surface-to-air missile from a defence base in Balasore off Odisha coast | The new missile is jointly developed by India and Israel | Abdul Majeed Al Khoori appointed Acting CEO of the Abu Dhabi Airports | Eng. Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei becomes Advisor to the Abu Dhabi Airports Chairman | Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar hands over 'Varunastra' to Indian Navy | Varunastra is an advanced heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo | It is indigenously designed, developed and manufactured by DRDO | India officially joins Missile Technology Control Regime | With this India becomes 35th member of the MTCR | Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar signed the document of accession into MTCR in Seoul June 27 | The document was signed in presence of Ambassadors of France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - the Chair and two co-chairs of the Regime | India had applied for the membership in 2015 | India finalises deal for 145 BAE Systems M777 artillery guns | This is Indian Army's first artillery deal in 30 years | Britain votes to leave EU, Pound crashes | 52 per cent voted Leave and 48 Remain in historic referendum | British Prime Minister David Cameron announces to resign before October over UK's exit | Leave process will take about two years though | Markets hit worldwide, including in India | China scuttles India's NSG bid | India joins SCO | India, apart from Pakistan, was admitted as full member of SCO during its Ufa Summit in July 2015 | After completing certain procedures, India now technically entered into SCO | India had an observer status for past 10 years prior to entering into six member regional bloc | No consensus on India's membership in NSG | China and five other countries oppose India's entry as New Delhi has not signed NPT | China insists Pakistan must also enter NSG if India's application is accepted | Pakistan is China's only military ally and is also known as a nuclear, missile and terror proliferator (NMTP) | Indian Space Agency ISRO successfully launches 20 satellites in one rocket | This is the biggest launch in ISRO's history | The satellites were launched onboard PSLV C-34 from SDSC (SHAR) Sriharikota | PSLV C-34 was carrying 17 satellites from US, Canada, Germany, Indonesia and 3 from India | Government of India approves 100% FDI in defence and civil aviation sectors | In defence, foreign investment beyond 49% (and up to 100%) permitted through the government approval route | This is in cases of access to modern technology in the country | For aviation, the government allowed 100% FDI in India-based airlines | The decision on FDI reforms taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi | India confident of getting into NSG, says External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj | India is working with China to win support | India will not oppose any country's membership proposal, EAM told a news conference |

Home

Editorial

DOWN MEMORY LANE
India’s First International Fleet Review

Air Marshal VK Jimmy Bhatia (Retd)

Published: February 2016

New Delhi. While savouring the various events of the just concluded International Fleet Review 2016, as they unfolded one after another February 4-8, I was taken back to the very first IFR conducted by India exactly 15 years ago in Mumbai in 2001. I was then the serving Air Officer Commanding- in-Chief, South-Western Air Command (SWAC) with my headquarters in Gandhinagar, the Capital of Gujarat.

In the IFR 2001 held in Mumbai, more than 60 ships including warship

Deep, and literally High, Security for Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam. Waters around this naval city, up, down and around, were under a highest possible security umbrella during the International Fleet Review. The President and Prime Minister of India are the two most guarded persons in the country, wherever they are, and during the IFR, not only they were here but the entire security establishment of the country was in Visakhapatnam to participate in the huge event. There were also important foreign dignitaries in the city, including the US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson whose nuclear powered aircraft carriers and submarines wouldn’t have been far away.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, the three Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Dhowan, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and General Dalbir Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, were among those present.

India’s only operational nuclear powered submarine INS Chakra, and the indigenous INS Arihant which is under final trials, did not take part in the event, and were perhaps deployed somewhere to sanitise the Bay of Bengal just in case some terrorist ventured in the region.

As per rules, there is always a minimum force level maintained around the naval bases, but as the country’s top leadership was here, surveillance from satellites, air, surface and subsea was high with both the Navy and Indian Air Force (IAF) maintaining combat air patrols.

The security had to be foolproof, and so was it.

s from USA, UK, Japan and Australia participated. In all, there were 22 nations that took part in the IFR in 2001. The Fleet was reviewed by then President, Mr K R Naraynan.

Because of the geographical proximity as also operational requirements Army’s Southern Command (SC) based at Pune, the Navy’s Western Naval Command (WNC) at Mumbai and the IAF’s SWAC were affiliated with each other to cater to the South Western region of the country. It was but natural that resources of all three Commands would pool in to make the mega event a grand success. However, it was presumed that this would only be in the form of ground effort as the event really belonged to the Navy to show its combat prowess to the country and the world.

The IAF therefore was a bit surprised to receive a request from the Navy to include a Su-30K aircraft in the aerial show. At that time, the comparatively newly inducted Su- 30s were located only at Lohegaon- based Air Force Station Pune, one of the premium air bases under my command in SWAC. Even though, there was initially some reluctance on the part of the Air HQ, I was able to convince them to allow this to happen for the sake of inter-services solidarity as also for the goodwill it would generate.

The Marine Drive was chock-a- bloc full, teeming with humanity to witness the air show that was to be conducted over the waters in front of the beautiful garland-shaped historical road that was also the venue for the conduct of the ‘City Parade’ that traditionally follows a formal fleet review. It was a balmy February afternoon and we were all seated in the Presidential Enclosure across the street facing the shimmering waters of the Arabian Sea to watch the spectacle.