Power is from 2 x Allison AE 2100A turboprop engines developing 4,152 shaft horsepower (each) driving six-bladed Dowty-brand propellers (constant speed). Performance includes a cruising speed of 425 miles per hour, a range out to 1,550 miles and a service ceiling of 31,000 feet. Its rate-of-climb is listed at 2,250 feet-per-minute.
Variants of the Model 2000 line have been few and far between. The regional airliner form seating up to fifty-eight is known simply as the Saab 2000. The Saab 2000FI was a flight inspection model produced in two examples for the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (the JCAB operates it at the government level). Current civilian market operators can be found in Britain, the United States, and Switzerland. Many have since given up the Model 2000 for better alternatives.
Military-minded forms have become the Saab 2000 AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Control), Saab 2000 "Airtracer" SIGINT (Signals Intelligence), and Saab 2000 MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft) overwater patroller platforms. The AEW&C form carries an Erieye Active, Electronically-Scanned Array (AESA) radar fit to better serve the air battlespace management role. Primary military operators of the Model 2000 are the Pakistani Air Force and the Royal Saudi Air Force.
The Model 2000 has been unable to match the commercial successes of the Model 340 as it arrived in time to compete against the likes of the Brazilian Embraer ERJ145 and Canadian Bombardier CRJ series which has ultimately hurt the global exposure of the Model 2000. This, in turn, has limited production of the series to just 63 units from 1992 to 1999.
With its inherent reliability, speed, and flexibility, the Saab 2000 is finding growing interest among operators in the military sphere - particularly in mission-support roles like those listed above.
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