India has sent two of its front-line warships to Qingdao, China, for taking part in an International Fleet Review (IFR), a parade of warships from across the world, as part of the 70th-anniversary celebrations of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
IFR is a parade of naval ships, aircraft, and submarines and is organized by nations to promote goodwill, strengthen cooperation and showcase their organizational capabilities. It also serves as an ideal platform for the world’s navies to showcase their prowess and indigenous ship designing and ship building capabilities in a global arena. IFR is scheduled to be reviewed by Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 23.
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The Indian Navy would be represented in the IFR at Qingdao by an indigenously-built stealth-guided missile destroyer and a fleet support ship. The two ships will reach Qingdao on Sunday.
The destroyer is equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors to address threats in all dimensions of naval warfare while the other is a replenishment ship and one of the largest tankers displacing over 27,000 tonnes and capable of carrying 15,000 tonnes of liquid cargo and over 500 tonnes of solid cargo including victuals and ammunition.
“The visit of Indian Navy’s most potent destroyer and versatile fleet support ship showcases India’s prowess, reach and sustainability in addition to indigenous ship building capability,” the Indian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The Indian ships will be opened to visits by PLA (Navy) personnel and the local populace to showcase the Indian Navy’s prowess and India’s ship-building capability.
