VISAKHAPATNAM: Two Indian Navy ships — Kolkata and Shakti — will participate in the International Fleet Review (IFR) in China as part of 70th-anniversary celebrations of People’s Liberation Army (Navy). The ships are scheduled to reach Qingdao on Sunday.
IFR is a parade of naval ships, aircraft and submarines and is organised by nations to promote goodwill, strengthen cooperation and showcase their organisational capabilities. IFR also serves as an ideal platform for world’s navies to showcase their prowess and indigenous ship designing and shipbuilding capabilities in a global arena. The second IFR conducted by India off Visakhapatnam in Feburary 2016 saw overwhelming participation of 50 navies with nearly 100 warships.
The Indian Navy would be represented in the IFR at Qingdao by indigenously built stealth guided missile destroyer INS Kolkata and fleet support ship INS Shakti. INS Kolkata is equipped with state-of-the-art weapon systems and sensors to address threats in all dimensions of naval warfare.