«Rosoboronexport» (part of the Rostec Group) has launched production in India of 3VBM17 Mango rounds, 125 mm caliber, for firing from the guns of T-72 and T-90 tanks. The ammunition is so powerful that it «cuts through armor like a hot knife through butter». This is according to military expert Shubhangi Palve in the article «Indian T-90 Tanks to Get Mango Firepower: Russian Armor-Piercing Rounds to Be Made Locally» for the Eurasian Times.
The rounds are designed to destroy armored vehicles equipped with composite armor, which is critical in modern combat. This initiative signifies a deepening of the Indo-Russian partnership.
The 3VBM17 Mango rounds include the 3BM42 armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot round. The expert explained that armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot rounds are specialized munitions that penetrate even thick armor and destroy enemy tanks. Shubhangi Palve expressed confidence that this is not the last joint project between Russia and India.