Dufour Aerospace Achieves “First Series of Drone Flights with Hybrid-Electric Engine from Vertical Takeoff to Full-Forward Flight and Back”
Swiss-based drone developer, Dufour Aerospace, announced this week an important milestone: the completion of its first flight test campaign with a hybrid-electric system, designed in-house, for its Aero2 drone, reports a press release. The Aero2 flew a series of trial flights in Zurich, with the hybrid system self-charging its batteries while in flight.
These tests “complete Dufour’s vision of a hybrid-electric powertrain, with an innovative tilt-wing design and autonomous flight,” explains the release. “It is believed to be the first-ever successful journey of a large-scaleserial hybrid-electric aircraft, transitioning from vertical takeoff to forward flight.”
Sascha Hardegger, CEO of Dufour Aerospace, commented, “We achieved a major milestone with these trials. As all of Dufour’s in-house developments — the flight control system and control software, power management system, and the integrated powertrain — must work together seamlessly to create this.”
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The release continues, “Upon transition to forward flight, the Aero2 hybrid-electric system is engaged to produce electricity on board, which powers the electric motors and recharges the batteries. At present, the hybrid system uses conventional gasoline, but is being readied for heavier fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel and kerosene.”
Hardegger pointed out, “The beauty of the Aero2 is mission-efficiency and a simpler system for charging aircraft. Our customers do not need to plug in the Aero2 for hours to run their next mission. Recharging is accomplished in the air, not on the ground, enabling back-to-back missions. It can land, exchange the payload, and restart the next mission immediately.”
He continued, “It demonstrates that our drone will be mission-ready for all of the use cases we envision. Initially, we are focusing on the delivery of critical cargo such as medical goods or urgently needed spare parts, where we are seeing a lot of operators and end-users waiting for efficient transport solutions.”

Sascha Hardegger
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(Top image: Aero2 Drone – credit: Dufour Aerospace)
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