DUFOUR AEROSPACE MOVES CRITICAL DRONE MISSIONS TOWARD SCALE

At Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich, Dufour Aerospace is moving its Aero-200 hybrid-electric tilt-wing drone from validation toward scalable operations for critical logistics and public safety.

«The IPZ provides a platform for valuable exchange and access to a network that offers expertise and practical support. It is also where we find some of the talented people who help us achieve our goals.»

Sascha Hardegger

CEO, Dufour Aerospace

Founded in Switzerland in 2017, Dufour Aerospace is developing aircraft for missions where speed, reach and reliability matter most. The company now positions itself as a Swiss pioneer of drones for critical missions, with a focus on cargo transportation, logistics and public safety. Its tilt-wing technology combines vertical take-off and landing with efficient fixed-wing flight, enabling aircraft to operate without a runway while covering longer distances than conventional multicopters.

At the centre of this work is the Aero-200, Dufour Aerospace’s first market-facing product platform, formerly known as Aero2. The hybrid-electric aircraft is designed for a typical mission of 20 kilograms over 200 kilometres, or up to 500 kilometres with lighter payloads. With vertical take-off and landing, a hybrid-electric powertrain and an in-house flight control system, the Aero-200 is built for time-critical missions where road transport can be too slow and helicopter-based operations too costly or complex. Serial production aircraft are currently targeted for 2027.

Dufour Aerospace’s presence in Zurich and Dübendorf shows why place matters in deep-tech aviation. The company uses the Dübendorf environment as a regular development and testing base, while Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich provides proximity to research, engineering talent and partners across robotics and mobility, space and aviation, and advanced manufacturing. In 2024, Dufour Aerospace relocated part of its office space to Halle 4 at Innovation Park Zurich, close to UZH Space Hub, creating room for growing design and stress engineering teams and strengthening its link to one of Switzerland’s most relevant aerospace innovation environments.

This environment has supported Dufour Aerospace as it moves from prototype validation toward operational readiness and scalable deployment. In 2025, the company rebranded Aero2 as Aero-200 as part of its transition toward commercial readiness, reached important flight milestones and strengthened its partner ecosystem. In 2026, it advanced remote operations and control-centre capabilities with Volatus Aerospace in Canada, including simulator-based training, remote operator procedures and remotely operated flight activities using the Aero-30 platform. The company also announced a commercial partnership with Savback Helicopters to prepare long-range drone logistics operations in Sweden, with commercial launch targeted for 2027. Together with earlier commitments from Areion and European Medical Drone, these developments show how Dufour Aerospace is moving from aircraft development toward deployable logistics and public-safety missions.

Key Facts

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    Founded in Switzerland

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    Formerly Aero2; Dufour Aerospace’s first market-facing product platform, with serial production aircraft targeted for 2027

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    typical commercial payload

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    typical mission range

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