Sweden Aircraft Company has been successfully developed the new Saab 2000. This is the advanced build of The Saab 230. The 2000 was the first civil application of the advanced Allison (now Rolls-Royce) AE-2100 turboshaft (derived from the military T406 developed for the revolutionary V-22 Osprey tiltrotor). The Saab 2000 is powered by driving slow turning six blade props. Saab decided to build the 2000 in December, 1988, due to a perceived demand for a high speed turboprop which could approach the speeds of jet aircraft while retaining the efficiency provided by turboprop engines. The Saab 2000 first flew on March 26, 1992, and entered into service in 1994, a few months after its certification by the Joint Aviation Authorities in March, and the Federal Aviation Administration in April. Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions ranging from military defence to civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents and constantly develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers’ changing needs.
The Saab 2000, can cruise at the speed of over 665km/h (360kt), is one of the fastest turboprop airliners developed. It combines near jet speeds, including near jet climb and descent rates, with turboprop economy. Several European aerospace firms participated in the Saab 2000 manufacturing program including CASA which designed and built the wing, Westland, which manufactured the rear fuselage, and Valmet of Finland which built the tail.
