 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 aging MBB Bo 105 rotorcraft.