India's Fleet Review Begins, With Iran Present But Not the U.S. Navy
The International Fleet Review being hosted by the Indian Navy has been getting underway in the port city of Visakhapatnam, home of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Command. Visak, as it is known, is also India’s shipbuilding capital.
The interlinked series of exercises commenced on Thursday February 18 with a review of the ships participating by India’s President, and will be followed by parades ashore and then Exercise Milan-2026 over February 19 to 26 at sea in the Bay of Bengal, covering anti-submarine warfare, air defence, maritime domain awareness and search-and-rescue operations. The flagship of the sea phase will be the Indian Vikrant-class carrier INS Vikrant (R11), on its first international outing after its debut into combat service during Operation Sindoor, the Indo-Pakistan war of May 2025.
Initial interest is focused on who out of 135 countries issued invitations have turned up for the Review.
India will field a formidable fleet of 45 ships, led by the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant (R11). Indian Navy Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan reported there had been confirmation of attendance from 55 nations, some of them on foot and some attending with naval aircraft. As at February 18, warships from 17 nations had been spotted in the harbor. Germany is participating with a recently-delivered Boeing Poseidon P-8A anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
The United States Navy was to have presented Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG-91), whose arrival was cancelled at the last minute for undisclosed operational reasons. It would have been embarrassing for the Indian hosts to have had Pinckney moored alongside IRINS Dena, should war have broken out with Iran during the period of the fleet review.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
The Iranian Navy Moudge-class frigate IRINS Dena (F74) arrived in Visak on February 16, even though it has been confirmed that the Indian Coast Guard is detaining three Iran-associated dark fleet tankers seized last week off Mumbai.
The absence of the Royal Navy was no surprise, given its current shortage of deployable ships, although admiral-rank senior representation is still likely to be available to attend. More surprising is the absence of the French Navy, particularly as President Macron is in India visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seal a contract to supply further Rafale aircraft to the Indian Air Force.
Content Original Link:
" target="_blank">
