Origins The EC145 was a joint development between Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, subsequently Eurocopter and
Kawasaki Heavy Industries on the basis of their successful prior jointly produced
BK 117 C1. Rather than pursuing an entirely clean sheet design, the forward cockpit and modern avionics of Eurocopter's
EC 135 were adopted in combination with the proven BK 117's rear section;
Flight International described the new helicopter, originally designed as BK 117 C2, as being "90% a combination of these two aircraft [The EC135 and BK 117 C1]". However, there were significant areas of redesign, advantages held by the EC145 over its predecessor include possessing a greater range and payload capacity, a considerably increased and uninterrupted
cabin area, reduced vibration and noise emissions, and measures to simplify maintenance and minimise operational costs. The noise signature of the EC145 is reportedly 60% lower than that of the BK 117 C1. The new model was type-certificated as the BK 117 C2; in December 1997, it was selected by the French Defense and Civil Guard for air rescue mission, 31 EC145s were ordered to replace their fleet of ageing
Aérospatiale Alouette III in a deal costing $170 million. The first EC145 completed its maiden flight at
Donauwörth, Germany, on 12 June 1999; Eurocopter conducted a major publicity event for the emerging type at the US Helicopter Association International Show in February 2000. Safety certification of the EC145 was awarded by the German
Luftfahrt-Bundesamt and Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau in December 2000; and by the United States
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in January 2002. Eurocopter and Kawasaki have an agreement to independently manufacture and market the rotorcraft, while working collaboratively on development and upgrades. Eurocopter has a 60% production workshare, which includes the main and tail rotors, intermediate and tail
gearboxes, control systems, cockpit and tail structure, and landing gear; Kawasaki has a 40% workshare, comprising the fuselage structure, main transmission, electrical and fuel systems. Kawasaki uses the designation BK 117 C2 for the type and sells/produces the aircraft in the Asian market; Eurocopter sells the type globally under the EC145 designation. In November 2004, with the termination of production of
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries'
MH2000, the BK 117 C2 became the only civil helicopter in production in Japan. In August 2010, it was announced that the partnership between Eurocopter and Kawasaki on the development and production of the EC145 had been extended until at least 2025.
Further development In 2011, Eurocopter launched an upgraded EC145 model, designated
EC145 T2, unveiling the new type at Heli Expo 2011. The EC145 T2 is designed to significantly increase the aircraft's performance, featuring new
Arriel 2E turboshaft engines, dual-digital Full Authority Digital Engine Controls (FADEC), Eurocopter's
Fenestron shrouded tail rotor design, and upgraded tail and main rotor gear boxes. Considerable differences and improvements were introduced to the cockpit and aircraft subsystems, including the adoption of increasingly digital avionics and a fully
modular approach to these systems; amongst the biggest changes is a sophisticated 4-axis autopilot. In April 2014, airworthiness certification from the
European Aviation Safety Agency for the EC145 T2 was received, FAA certification followed in October 2014. The primary manufacturing facility for the EC145 is located at
Donauwörth in
Germany, which is Eurocopter's second-largest site after
Marignane in France. In 2014, Airbus Helicopters announced that 50 EC145 T2s would be manufactured in 2015; the production was expected to eventually rise to 70 helicopters per year. In an emergency situation, such as systems failure, the EC145 OPV is programmed to enter into an automated hover-to-land procedure to safely land the aircraft. In March 2015, Airbus Helicopter's Chief Technical Officer Jean-Brice Dumont stated that there were no firm plans for the EC145 OPV to proceed to production, but investment in the project was continuing. In July 2014, Airbus Helicopter launched the
EC145e, a lightened and lower cost version of the standard EC145, achieved by the removal of some avionics for autopilot and single-pilot IFR functions. Intended as a basic model for tasks such as aerial firefighting and utility work, it has been also viewed as a replacement for ageing
MBB Bo 105 rotorcraft. In April 2015, the EASA issued its certification for the EC145e. In 2015, Metro Aviation entered into an arrangement with Airbus Helicopters to offer various mission-specific customisations for the EC145e and operate as a reseller for the variant. In 2015, the EC145 was rebranded as the
H145 by Airbus Helicopters. In March 2019, Airbus Helicopters announced that it was developing, in cooperation with Japanese manufacturer
Kawasaki, an upgraded model of the H145. Chiefly amongst its new features were a new bearingless five-bladed main rotor that incorporates the
Blue Edge rotor blade, the testing of which had commenced in April 2018. Furthermore, such changes are able to be retrofitted to existing H145s. The upgrade reportedly increases payload capacity by and will be able to be retrofitted to existing H145s. EASA certification is expected in the first quarter of 2020.
Production Over 1600 of the H145 family had been produced by June 2023. ==Design==