328 Support Services (Oberpfaffenhofen) has announced in a press release that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the federal German authorities and the local government of Saxony to establish a new original equipment manufacturer and resume the production of the Do328 aircraft.

The new OEM, DRA Aero (DRA GmbH), will have its final assembly at Leipzig/Halle airport. The new type family is tentatively named the Do328NEU. The project anticipates the creation of up to 250 new jobs at the production facilities in Leipzig and an additional 100 plus jobs at 328 Support Services' headquarters in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich.

"Germany’s return to the design and building of a Part 25 category commercial aircraft is long overdue and this new operation intends to create an aviation legacy founded on the heritage of aircraft pioneers," 328 Support Services Managing Director Dave Jackson said.

Further details about the plan will be announced at the end of the first quarter of 2020. 328SS did not reveal whether it planned to resume the production of both the turboprop variant Do328-100 and the jet-powered Do328-300.

328 Support Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNC - Sierra Nevada (Reno/Tahoe). The company currently offers MRO services for Do328s at Dornier's former airport in Oberpfaffenhofen. It owns the Do328 type certificate as well as the intellectual property (IP) rights for its design, manufacturing, maintenance, and certification.

In 2016, SNC announced plans to restart Do328 production in Turkey, although these intentions seem to have been abandoned now.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, there are currently 88 existing Do328-100 turboprops globally, of which 47 units are active. The largest operator is the United States Air Force (MC, Washington National), which operates 21. The production of the type ended in 1999. In turn, there are 101 existing Do328-300 jets, of which 40 are active. The largest operator, with 16 units, is Sun-Air (EZ, Billund). The jet variant was produced until 2002 when Fairchild Dornier (Oberpfaffenhofen) became insolvent.

The type certificate was acquired from Fairchild Dornier by Avcraft (Myrtle Beach International) before being bought by 328 Support Services.