Deutsche Aircraft will use the ILA Berlin air show in June to present a multi-mission variant of its D328eco turboprop, a civil-certified design the company says can be configured for border patrol, maritime surveillance, medical evacuation and tactical transport.
The proposed D328 Multi Role, or D328MR, remains a concept at this stage. The company plans digital demonstrations at the show to illustrate how interchangeable cabin modules would allow the same airframe to switch between roles.
Alongside the D328MR, Deutsche Aircraft will disclose a new uncrewed aerial system intended to operate with the crewed turboprop on wide-area surveillance missions. The drone is a fully developed product now being industrialized in Germany.
A Dornier 328 flown by EU border agency Frontex will be on static display with an autonomous refueling pod, a setup the manufacturer says points to the mission flexibility a larger D328MR would offer. The aircraft is part of the active fleet supported by the company's in-service team.
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"Public-sector operators increasingly rely on mixed fleets. The value lies not in individual platforms, but in how they are integrated into a single mission concept," said Markus Hahner, sales director for special missions.
Chief Executive Nico Neumann said the combination of crewed and uncrewed systems allows agencies to select the right platform for each operation, based on civilian certification and long-term operational safety.
The D328eco itself is a heavily updated version of the 30-seat Dornier 328 turboprop that entered service in the 1990s. The new aircraft stretches the cabin to 40 seats and swaps in Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127XT engines with modern avionics.
The first prototype is undergoing ground tests at the company's facility in Germany. A maiden flight initially targeted for late 2025 has slipped to the second half of 2026.
Deutsche Aircraft had previously guided toward certification and first deliveries by the end of 2027, though that timeline has not been updated publicly in months.
ILA Berlin runs from 10 to 14 June.
