Back to Companies
S

SwissDrones

Builds and operates the SDO 50 V3, a long-range turbine-powered unmanned helicopter for BVLOS infrastructure inspection, aerial surveillance and search-and-rescue missions.

11-50 employeesBuchs, Switzerland3 open positionsWebsiteLinkedIn

Drones & UAVSensors & EW

Products & Solutions

SDO 50 V3
A turbine-powered, twin-rotor unmanned helicopter with a maximum takeoff weight of 87 kg and a useful payload exceeding 20 kg. The aircraft operates autonomously on pre-programmed missions at ranges up to 216 km and endurances exceeding three hours, in temperatures from -20°C to +50°C. It is designed for rapid deployment with a setup time of 15 minutes and accepts a wide range of interchangeable sensor payloads including EO/IR, LiDAR, SAR, methane detection and mobile phone location systems. The platform is certified for BVLOS operations under EASA and has logged missions in more than 14 countries.

Videos

SwissDrones Company Video 2024

World-First 550 km UAV Pipeline Inspection in Australia

BVLOS Operations in 14 Countries

About

SwissDrones was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Zurich, with its manufacturing facility in Buchs, St. Gallen, Switzerland. The company designs, manufactures and operates twin-rotor unmanned helicopter systems built to replace manned aircraft for aerial intelligence missions — surveillance, infrastructure inspection and search-and-rescue — flown beyond visual line of sight.

Offices

Zurich, SwitzerlandBuchs, Switzerland

Backed by

DiamondStream PartnersChevron Technology VenturesIngleside Investors

Customers & Partners

Elia GroupSwiss Federal Office for Civil ProtectionDLR (German Aerospace Center)Southern CompanySanwa GikouweControl (avionics development partner)

Timeline

2025-12
Completed first sale of the SDO 50 V3 in Japan to Sanwa Gikou for disaster response and emergency mission operations.
2025-06
Signed first US hardware contract with Southern Company for power line and natural gas infrastructure inspection.
2024-04
Closed Series B of over $10 million led by DiamondStream Partners, Chevron Technology Ventures and Ingleside Investors.
2023-01
Raised a seven-figure investment from DiamondStream Partners and received the EASA Light UAS Operator Certificate for BVLOS operations across member countries.
2021
Completed the first BVLOS flights of a heavy drone above 25 kg in Belgium, with individual inspection flights of over 100 km for Elia Group.
2013
Founded in Switzerland, developing twin-rotor unmanned helicopter systems for BVLOS aerial intelligence missions.

SwissDrones owns its name, logo and all referenced trademarks — used here for identification only. Claim, update or remove this profile.