Dewald Venter reports on the Mechem Springbok concept mine protected armoured car
With the end of the South African Border War (1966- 1989) and a wartime budget no longer available to the South African Defence Force (SADF), defence spending cuts necessitated the phasing out from the inventory of older vehicles such as the Eland armoured car.
The argument that South Africa should not send troops outside its borders was also at the forefront of ministrylevel experts at the time. Conversely, the requirement for an air-transportable vehicle was not on the table.
For a brief period, the army considered preserving at least one squadron of Eland-90s to provide some airtransportable armour capability. However, this was short-lived, a decision that would later be regretted immensely as South Africa would contribute significantly to African Union (AU) Peacekeeping operations on the continent.
