NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy is gearing up to mark a defining moment in India’s maritime story as Visakhapatnam will host both the International Fleet Review (IFR) and Exercise MILAN from Feb 15 to 25, placing the ‘City of Destiny’ once again at the heart of India’s Indo-Pacific strategy.“The current edition of IFR and MILAN exercise will be larger in scope and deeper in meaning as navies of 72 countries, including US and Russia, will participate and the mega joint naval events will feature over 60 warships and naval aircraft of three countries,” a Navy source told TOI. The IFR will position India’s eastern seaboard as a focal point for naval diplomacy and multilateral maritime engagement. Warships and assets from Germany, Philippines and the UAE are participating for the first time, including the Philippines’ ‘BRP Miguel Malvar’ (FFG-06) and a UAE Navy warship, Al Emarat. Since 2001, India has used IFRs and opened its ports to allied navies to project maritime strength.The star of Operation Sindoor’s naval leg, aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, is all set to be the centre of attraction at the fleet review. The Vikrant carrier battle group, deployed in the northern Arabian Sea, played a key role in the strategy of compellence, thereby forcing the Pakistan Navy to be in a defensive posture.