D328eco Regional Airliner's Rear Fuselages Will be Made in India

Germany’s Deutsche Aircraft plans to outsource the manufacturing of rear fuselages for its 40-passenger D328eco regional airliner to India. Last week, the company announced a partnership with Bangalore-based Dynamatic Technologies covering production for the updated version of the Dornier 328 it is aiming to bring to market in 2028.

Dynamatic Technologies will manufacture rear fuselage sections for the twin turboprop, which will be assembled at Deutsche Aircraft’s factory in Leipzig. The Indian company makes wing and fuselage assemblies for Airbus, as well as structural components for Boeing airliners.

According to Dynamatic’s CEO, Udayant Malhoutra, the company has extensive engineering expertise, including advanced materials. Its facilities in both India and the UK are equipped with robotic machining, 5-axis CNC units, and high-tolerance measurement systems.

The partnership announced on November 5 in New Delhi involves two other Indian technology companies. It has the support of Srinivasan Dwarkanath, director general of the Aerospace India Association, who is the former CEO of Airbus India.

Hyderabad-based Cyient will provide a touchscreen- based cabin management system and will support Deutsche Aircraft with safety critical documentation and digital workflow processes driven by artificial intelligence. Bangalore-based Sasmos Het will supply aerospace grade electrical harnesses and embedded systems to power the aircraft’s core functions.

Deutsche Aircraft unveiled its first D328eco test aircraft in mid-2025, marking the transition from design to flight-test preparation. It will be powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW127XT-S engines and have a flight deck equipped with a Garmin 5000 Prime avionics suite.

According to the manufacturer, the aircraft will be able to takeoff from runways of 3,550 feet in length, or just 2,625 feet with a 70% load factor on routes of up to 250 nm, and make steep approaches of up to 5.5 degrees. It has said that operating costs will be around half those of current regional airliners.

“India is the largest growth market for this as the D328eco is positioned to unlock short-haul connectivity under the subsidized regional connectivity UDAN scheme,” Deutsche Aircraft CEO Nico Neumann told AIN. He predicted demand for 200 of the aircraft by 2030, saying that its shortfield performance will allow it to unlock restrictions on air services to geographically-challenged locations in countries including India, Papua New Guinea, Colombia and Norway.

Beyond India, Deutsche Aircraft has partnered with Brazil’s Akaer for forward fuselage production. Aernnova in Spain is providing the D328eco’s empennage and the landing gear will be main by Heggemann in Germany.