[2] 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.

It made its first test flight on March 19, 1994,[5] which was conducted by Marshall Aerospace on a Lockheed C-130K Hercules testbed leased from the Royal Air Force.

[10] It powered the N-250 prototype's first flight on August 10, 1995,[11] but the N-250 aircraft program was postponed indefinitely in the late 1990s due to the Asian financial crisis.

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.

[15] The AE 2100 engine and gearbox are rated at 6,000 shaft horsepower (4,500 kilowatts), but was derated to 4,200, 4,590, and 3,600 shp (3,130, 3,420, and 2,680 kW) for the Saab 2000, Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, and IPTN N-250, respectively.

[18] The engine uses six-bladed, all-composite blade Dowty propellers, including the model R381 on the Saab 2000, R414 on the ShinMaywa US-2,[17] R384 on the IPTN N-250,[19] and R391 on the C-130J military transport[20] and the LM-100J civil-certified version of the C-130J.