Dufour’s Aero2 hybrid VTOL
Dufour Aerospace unveiled the Aero2, a hybrid VTOL drone designed for cargo, logistics, and public‑safety missions — blending vertical takeoff with longer‑range cruise endurance. That kind of hybrid architecture keeps showing up in payload/logistics use cases where runway access is limited. (x.com)
Dufour’s published data shows the Aero2 carries up to 40 kg of payload, has a stated range of about 400 km, and a maximum takeoff weight listed at roughly 150 kg, with hybrid endurance around three hours versus about one hour in pure‑electric mode. (cdn.prod.website-files.com) The company announced first-in-house series hybrid‑electric flight tests that demonstrated in‑flight battery recharging and transitions from vertical hover to full forward flight during a campaign concluded in late January 2025. (dufour.aero) A production‑conforming Aero2 prototype (designated X2.3) completed its first successful hover flight in August 2024 as Dufour expanded flight testing near Zurich ahead of planned series production. (ainonline.com) Dufour’s technical factsheet quantifies a payload/range tradeoff: removing 4 kg of payload yields roughly one extra flight hour or about 133 km of range, reflecting a configurable mission payload‑fuel balance. (cdn.prod.website-files.com) The program has progressed from design freezes in 2023 to customer letters of intent and purchase contracts, and Dufour rebranded the Aero2 to “Aero‑200” in September 2025 to reflect MTOW‑based naming as the line scales. (cdn.prod.website-files.com)
