Dufour Aerospace, the innovative Swiss drone and eVTOL company, and Areion, the U.S. drone pioneer and successor to Spright, today announced the renewal of their partnership, including the purchase by Areion of 40 Aero2 drones with options for an additional 100 aircraft. Dufour and Spright previously announced this largest-ever purchase of civilian drones in 2023. Areion will continue business development activities with Dufour Aerospace's tilt-wing Aero2 drone, focusing on critical goods transport and other logistical applications.

The announcement was made at the UP.Summit, an invitation-only gathering of 300 of the world’s most innovative minds rethinking the future of transportation, taking place this year in Bentonville, Arkansas. Investors in attendance represent more than $1 trillion of assets under management. Dufour Aerospace’s Aero2 drone is displayed at the UP.Summit sporting the Areion livery.

Said Dufour Aerospace CEO Sascha Hardegger: “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Areion. Our first product, the Aero2, will soon enter pre-series production with a view to commercial deliveries in 2026, and we believe Areion is the right partner to expand our footprint in the United States. As a testament to the promise of this partnership, we are honoured Thomas Pfammatter, our co-founder, was invited to the UP.Summit. It is a key gathering of visionaries on the next phase of flight operations, and we are happy that Aero2 will be on display. Investors will see what’s possible with our innovative tilt-wing platform.”

"Dufour Aerospace has developed an impressive multi-role platform for unmanned air mobility that will allow us to meet our future needs. With today’s announcement, we demonstrate our continuing commitment to their vision and to their technological approach, in which we are proud to be a partner in the U.S. and abroad," said Areion Managing Director, Tyler Kennedy.