Pilots assigned to an aviation brigade with the air force under the PLA Southern Theater Command give gestures to the ground crew before takeoff during a long-endurance flight training exercise in mid October, 2023. Photo:China Military

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has started to utilize mixed reality in aircraft maintenance, a move experts said on Wednesday can improve training for ground maintenance crews and lead to higher combat capabilities.

A brigade affiliated with the aviation force under the air force of the PLA Eastern Theater Command recently commissioned a type of mixed reality aircraft maintenance system and  deployed it in daily operations, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Tuesday.

In the case of engine replacement, a procedure that requires fast speed, high precision and reliability, this innovative system has taken over the role of conventional tools by allowing mechanics to virtually disassemble engines before a real engine test, CCTV reported.

The report shows that a ground crew member wearing mixed reality goggles can carry out simulated maintenance operations on a genuine warplane. With the goggles, he is able to summon virtual tools into his bare hands, see through the aircraft's exterior into the components inside and perform mock operations on them.

The mixed reality aircraft maintenance system can help comprehensively understand the crew's actual capabilities without needing them to actually work on real equipment, CCTV quoted a crew member as saying.

The technology will empower faster generation of combat capability, CCTV said.

Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the mixed reality system can enhance the training of ground maintenance crews.

A training session using mixed reality technology is more cost-effective than a conventional training session featuring real aircraft disassembly, and with this improved training, real maintenance is sure to be more accurate and reliable, Wang said, noting that he had seen similar mixed reality systems when visiting industrial firms.

In the future, the mixed reality system can be integrated into a real-time database, allowing the live status of the aircraft to be remotely synchronized to systems on the ground, so the ground crew can make targeted preparations while the aircraft is still in the air, and carry out these preparations immediately after it lands, Wang said.

High quality and fast aircraft maintenance contributes to warplanes' mission capable rate, which plays a significant role in combat capability, analysts said.