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Rolls-Royce AE 2100
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Rolls-Royce AE 2100
The Rolls-Royce AE 2100 is a turboprop developed by Allison Engine Company, now part of Rolls-Royce North America. The engine was originally known as the GMA 2100, when Allison was a division of former corporate parent General Motors.
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. In July 1990, Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) of Indonesia picked the GMA 2100 as the engine for the twin-engine N-250 regional airliner. Flight testing with a 13 ft 6 in diameter (4.11 m) Dowty R373 propeller on a Lockheed P-3 Orion testbed aircraft began on 23 August 1990, and finished after over 50 hours of flight and ground testing.
The GMA 2100D3 became the powerplant for the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules. It made its first test flight on 19 March 1994, which was conducted by Marshall Aerospace on a Lockheed C-130K Hercules testbed leased from the Royal Air Force. Testing ended in June 1994 after 47 flight hours. The engine powered the initial flight of the C-130J aircraft on 5 April 1996. By April 1997, the D3 variant had received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification. 2,000 of the D3 variants have been delivered as of 2018.
The engine's C variant was certified on 20 December 1993. It powered the N-250 prototype's first flight on 10 August 1995, but the N-250 aircraft program was postponed indefinitely in the late 1990s due to the Asian financial crisis.
In June 1997, the AE 2100 was selected by Lockheed Martin and Alenia to power the C-27J Spartan tactical airlifter. In October 2015, Alenia announced plans to use a 5,100-horsepower (3,800-kilowatt) uprated version of the AE 2100 as the baseline engine by 2017.
As of 7 August 2025, Rolls-Royce also plans to establish an MRO facility in India to service the AE 2100 engines in service with the Indian Air Force's C-130J fleet. The project is also intended to enhance the C-130J’s capabilities, thereby strengthening its prospects for the Indian Air Force’s Medium Transport Aircraft program.
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 10,000 shp (7,500 kW). The AE 2100 is a two-shaft design, and it was the first[when?] 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.
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Rolls-Royce AE 2100
The Rolls-Royce AE 2100 is a turboprop developed by Allison Engine Company, now part of Rolls-Royce North America. The engine was originally known as the GMA 2100, when Allison was a division of former corporate parent General Motors.
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. In July 1990, Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) of Indonesia picked the GMA 2100 as the engine for the twin-engine N-250 regional airliner. Flight testing with a 13 ft 6 in diameter (4.11 m) Dowty R373 propeller on a Lockheed P-3 Orion testbed aircraft began on 23 August 1990, and finished after over 50 hours of flight and ground testing.
The GMA 2100D3 became the powerplant for the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules. It made its first test flight on 19 March 1994, which was conducted by Marshall Aerospace on a Lockheed C-130K Hercules testbed leased from the Royal Air Force. Testing ended in June 1994 after 47 flight hours. The engine powered the initial flight of the C-130J aircraft on 5 April 1996. By April 1997, the D3 variant had received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification. 2,000 of the D3 variants have been delivered as of 2018.
The engine's C variant was certified on 20 December 1993. It powered the N-250 prototype's first flight on 10 August 1995, but the N-250 aircraft program was postponed indefinitely in the late 1990s due to the Asian financial crisis.
In June 1997, the AE 2100 was selected by Lockheed Martin and Alenia to power the C-27J Spartan tactical airlifter. In October 2015, Alenia announced plans to use a 5,100-horsepower (3,800-kilowatt) uprated version of the AE 2100 as the baseline engine by 2017.
As of 7 August 2025, Rolls-Royce also plans to establish an MRO facility in India to service the AE 2100 engines in service with the Indian Air Force's C-130J fleet. The project is also intended to enhance the C-130J’s capabilities, thereby strengthening its prospects for the Indian Air Force’s Medium Transport Aircraft program.
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 10,000 shp (7,500 kW). The AE 2100 is a two-shaft design, and it was the first[when?] 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.
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