Deutsche Aircraft says it is tightening its supply chain planning around the D328eco programme as it prepares for the aircraft’s first flight campaign, with the company insisting that industrial readiness must advance in lockstep with certification and development work.
The German manufacturer said its supply chain team, led by vice-president Patricia Ferrari, is focusing on resilience, supplier readiness and long-lead item management rather than pushing too early into full-s...
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cale ramp-up. The aim, it said, is to validate technical configurations, secure material flows and build operational insight that can be used to shape later stages of industrialisation.
Ferrari said the organisation’s task is to support development and first flight “with precision and reliability”, adding that Deutsche Aircraft is sequencing industrialisation according to the programme’s current maturity. She said the company is concentrating on scalable concepts and supplier readiness now, while keeping room to move efficiently into later phases.
The strategy rests on four pillars: a scalable framework, stronger supplier capability, risk-based prioritisation and operational agility. Deutsche Aircraft says those principles are intended to help it stay aligned with programme milestones, commercial priorities and the pace of certification.
The approach comes as the company continues to refine the wider D328eco programme. Deutsche Aircraft recently revised the regional turboprop’s entry-into-service target to the fourth quarter of 2027, citing regulatory changes and the need to complete certification work in full. The delay, the company said, gives it time to incorporate additional capabilities, including improved short take-off and landing performance and upgraded avionics.
At the same time, Deutsche Aircraft has been building out the industrial base for the aircraft. In May, it laid the cornerstone for the D328eco final assembly line at Leipzig/Halle Airport, a facility it says will cover 60,500 square metres and is due to be completed by the end of 2025. The site is planned to include a carbon-neutral manufacturing facility, a commissioning hangar, a logistics centre and administrative buildings.
The company has also been using digital engineering tools to support development, including an integrated model-based environment built on Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Deutsche Aircraft has described that as an important step toward a more data-driven production system for the aircraft, which is intended to serve short and medium-haul routes and be compatible with sustainable aviation fuels.
Supplier engagement has been another strand of the programme. Deutsche Aircraft recently convened its second supplier summit in Leipzig to discuss implementation options with partners, underscoring procurement’s role in shaping a more sustainable supply chain for the aircraft.
Anastasija Visnakova, the company’s chief commercial officer, said the organisation was taking a “balanced and realistic approach”, arguing that industrial ambition must be grounded in proven progress. According to Deutsche Aircraft, that alignment between development, operations and supply chain will be critical as the programme moves toward first flight and later certification milestones.
Source: Noah Wire Services
