Raksha Mantri flags-in first-ever Tri-service all-women circumnavigation sailing expedition

The Ministry of Defence announced that the Indian Army Sailing Vessel (IASV) Triveni, a 50‑foot indigenously‑built ship, completed the first ever tri‑service all‑women circumnavigation ‘Samudra Pradakshina’. Nine women officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force returned to Mumbai after a 314‑day voyage covering about 25,500 nautical miles across four oceans. The expedition, flagged‑in by Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh on 22 July 2026 (flagged‑off on 11 Sept 2025), met all international circumnavigation criteria, including crossing all meridians, the Equator twice, the International Date Line and the three great caps. The Ministry highlighted the mission’s demonstration of tri‑service jointness, women’s empowerment, indigenous engineering capability and its role in military diplomacy and soft‑power projection.