By 1994, South Africa held its first free democratic elections, subsequently, sanctions were lifted and South Africa was again allowed to purchase and sell arms on the international market. It was argued by the new South African National Defence Force (SANDF) that a modern MBT could just as easily be purchased from an international supplier and at a far more competitive price than it would be to build locally. The TTD served as a culmination of all the technological research and industrial capacity available in South Africa during the early 1990s with subsequent comparisons to be made with other MBTs of the era. At the time of its development, the chief opposing MBT was considered the T-72M with its 125 mm main gun. It could be argued that, if the decision was taken to produce the new MBT, the final variant would have been strikingly similar to the TTD. It was envisaged that 282 of these MBT`s would be built on completion of the project in order to replace the Olifant Mk1A and Mk1B.
With the subsequent cancellation of the MBT project and no acquisition on the table, the TTD was donated to the South African Armour Museum in 1996/7.
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