The People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) began ordering T-62s from the Soviet Union in 1980 and received them by late 1985. Most of the tanks were delivered in the wake of "Operation Askari", which saw Angola's older T-54s and T-55s bested by South African expeditionary forces equipped with Eland and Ratel-90 armoured cars. Following "Askari", a meeting between Angolan, Cuban, and Soviet representatives concluded with a pledge to drastically accelerate the transfer of new weaponry to FAPLA. This was to include T-62s.