Will Hospital Transport be the First Big Application for eVTOL? European Medical Drone Inks Deal to Purchase Dufour Aero2 Tilt Wings

Could hospital logistics be one of the first commercial applications for eVTOL? European Medical Drone signs Purchase Agreement with Dufour Aerospace

European Medical Drone is a Swedish drone services provider: focused on transporting critical supplies like blood, medicines, and medical equipment between hospitals by means of drone transportation.  It’s a valuable service, and a way of optimizing the availability of medical resources.

Globally, medical applications have led the way in multiple sectors, including drone delivery.  Now, European Medical Drone has signed a purchase agreement with Dufour Aerospace, the Swiss eVTOL manufacturer, for the development and purchase of 11 Aero2 uncrewed tilt-wing aircraft. “The agreement includes the delivery of one Aero2 X2.3 prototype aircraft in 2024 and 10 serial Aero2 aircraft with delivery starting in 2026. Savback Helicopters, Swedish helicopter vendor and partner of Dufour Aerospace, is assisting this transaction,” says a company announcement.

Dufour calls the Aero2 “the Swiss Army knife” of drones.  The Aero2 can operate at speeds of up to 170 km/h (92kts) in cruise speed. Aero2 reuqires a very small landing spot in it’s vertical take off and landing (VTOL) configuration, but uses as little energy as a conventional airplane during flight. “The tilt-wing design combines the best features of both helicopters and airplanes,” says Dufour.

“Dufour’s Aero2 is exactly what we are looking for, and at this stage, we do not see another product offering the same features close to market entry,” said Martin Braaen, Founder of European Medical Drone. “Our mission is to facilitate sharing of vital resources among hospitals. Our system allows hospitals to request and receive essential supplies such as blood, medicines, and medical equipment. As we have a focus on connecting hospitals which are several hundred kilometres apart, we need long-range, heavy-lift, uncrewed aircraft with a lot of redundancy for safety. We do have very knowledgeable partners in our project, and with the addition of Dufour Aerospace, we will be one step closer to the aim of connecting hospitals with automated, fast and reliable transportation services also in large countries like Sweden. We are excited to team up with Dufour Aerospace to introduce our service in Scandinavia.”

“Dufour Aerospace shares European Medical Drone’s vision and values, and our Aero2 has exactly been designed for the delivery of critical cargo over long distances, facilitating today’s logistics where this is beneficial,” said Thomas Pfammatter, CEO and Co-founder of Dufour Aerospace. “Connecting hospitals in a fast, reliable and efficient way makes a lot of sense in our eyes, and this will even become more important in the future. We are very happy to support European Medical Drone with our products and contribute to their activities towards building a medical logistics network to the best of our abilities. This development cooperation and purchase contract is of particular importance to us, as it confirms that our high-level specifications meet not only use cases overseas, but also in Europe.”

“Savback Helicopters, as the sole, exclusive agent for the sales of Dufour Aerospace products in the Nordics, is proud to be a part of this groundbreaking collaboration, showcasing our commitment to advancing the future of aviation and medical logistics through cutting-edge technologies. Together with Dufour Aerospace, we look forward to supporting European Medical Drone’s mission of creating a robust medical logistics network that offers swift, reliable, and efficient transportation services to hospitals in Scandinavia. From medical logistics to search and rescue operations, and from law enforcement to aerial surveying, the Dufour Aero2 has been purposefully designed to meet the diverse needs of modern aviation. Its ability to seamlessly transition between roles and missions makes it a standout choice for a wide range of applications,” said Michael Savbäck, Founder and CEO of Savback Helicopters.

The three companies will collaborate specifically with a view to introducing the Aero2 uncrewed aircraft on first routes between hospitals in Sweden, together with the partners of European Medical Drone. This work will include drafting the necessary concepts of operations, submitting the necessary documentation to the authorities, and carrying out trial operations to identify both the potential and limitations of operations and implementing use case specific requirements into the aircraft.

Read more:

• Dufour Aerospace Releases the Final Design for the Aero2 Drone: Hybrid-Electric Propulsion, Tilt-Wing Design
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• Everdrone Medical Drone Delivery Partners with Air Ambulance Charity