Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Eurocopter have extended their 33-year co-operation agreement on the EC145 - designated the BK117 C-2 in Japan - by a further 15 years.
The announcement, made at the show yesterday, will cement the partnership between the Japanese and German manufacturers until 2025.
KHI and Eurocopter began in 1977 to mutually develop the light twin- engined BK117, which had its maiden flight in June 1979. Several upgrades of the BK117 were carried out over the years and in 1999 the latest version - dubbed the EC145 - made its maiden flight.
More than 800 BK117/EC145s have been delivered to date by the two partner companies, which share development and manufacturing, with three final assembly lines - in Donauwörth in Germany, Gifu in Japan and Columbus, Mississippi.
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Source: Flight Daily News
