Rolls-Royce AE 2100

On 11 July 1989, Saab-Scania A.B. selected the GMA 2100 to power its new Saab 2000, a 50-seat stretch of the Saab 340 turboprop, in a US$500 million deal. ==Design==

with six-bladed props A derivative of the Allison AE 1107C-Liberty (Rolls-Royce T406) turboshaft engine, the AE 2100 shares the same high-pressure core as that engine, as does the Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofan. This core is capable of powering turboprops of up to . The AE 2100 is a two-shaft design, and it was the first to use dual FADECs (full authority digital engine control) to control both engine and propeller, allowing both to be adjusted with a single lever. There are four production variants of the engine: the civil AE 2100A, and the military variants which include the AE 2100D2/D2A, AE 2100D3, AE 2100J and AE 2100P. The AE 2100 inherited the Allison T56's 14-stage axial compressor design, but the inlet and the stator for the first five stages have variable blades. The annular combustor has 16 air-blast fuel injection nozzles. The turbine that drives the compressor has two stages, with the first stage using single-crystal blades. A free power turbine with two stages drives the propeller through an inner shaft and a gearbox. The engine has replaceable steel blades and vanes, which are more reliable but heavier than titanium. The AE 2100 engine and gearbox are rated at , but was derated to for the Saab 2000, Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, and IPTN N-250, respectively. The engine uses six-bladed, all-composite blade Dowty propellers, including the model R381 on the Saab 2000, R414 on the ShinMaywa US-2, R384 on the IPTN N-250, and R391 on the C-130J military transport and the LM-100J civil-certified version of the C-130J. The gearbox has a reduction ratio of about 14 and a mean time before unscheduled removal (MTBUR) of over 35,000 hours. ==Variants and applications==

;AE 2100A • Lockheed P-3 Orion (testbed) • Saab 2000 ;AE 2100C • IPTN N-250 (prototype only) ;AE 2100D2A • Alenia C-27J Spartan ;AE 2100D3 • Lockheed C-130K Hercules (testbed) • Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules • Lockheed Martin LM-100J ;AE 2100F : A variant proposed in 1995 and paired with Dowty R394 propellers to retrofit the Allison T56-powered Lockheed C-130 models E through H and Lockheed L-100-30, at a price after engine/propeller trade-in of USD$11 million per aircraft. ;AE 2100G :A variant offered in 1994 for the proposed ATR 82, a twin-turboprop airliner seating up to 86 passengers and requiring about of power. ;AE 2100H :A variant offered in 1996 for Dassault Aviation's proposed Atlantic Third Generation (ATL3G) maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). ;AE 2100J : A hybrid of the AE 2100A and AE 2100D3, sporting the torque-meter and interconnecting struts from the AE 2100A and the gearbox-mounted accessory gearbox from the AE 2100D3; also uses a stronger reduction gearbox, a Dowty six-bladed propeller for higher loads, and modified inlet and bypass section positioning to mitigate seawater ingestion; powers the ShinMaywa US-2. ;AE 2100P • Saab 2000 AEW&C ;AE 2100SD-7 :A variant proposed in 1994 for the European Future Large Aircraft (which eventually became the Airbus A400M), with the required power increase from estimated to cost USD$600 million. ==Specifications (AE 2100D3)==

C-130J Hercules ready for inspection at Ramstein Air Base, Germany in 2019 ==See also==