The South African soldiers being evacuated from their Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) mission have had to rely on the military equivalent of Uber. Perhaps Bolt would be more appropriate, given that their expedition ended in chaotic failure.

The South African Air Force (SAAF) no longer has proper airlift capacity for troops and equipment. Last Friday, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) had to borrow (and doubtless pay for) an Air Tanzania Boeing 787. As defence & military veterans minister Angie Motshekga rather quaintly put it: “If we had our own capability, we would have just picked up our children and landed them at the airbase.”..

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