JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
The Air National Guard Readiness Center recently kicked off a new initiative for ANG wings to start using their extended reality labs. The XR Lab is designed to train Airmen on a multitude of different aircraft maintenance tasks.
The lab uses extended reality, an all-encompassing term to include augmented reality, mixed reality and virtual reality, to create an immersive simulation that allows maintenance Airmen to sharpen skills, improve readiness and accelerate training timelines.
The lab takes Airmen onto a virtual flight line with aircraft ranging from a C-5M Super Galaxy to a F-16 Fighting Falcon. Depending on the chosen module, the lab takes Airmen through their technical orders – documents that provide detailed step-by-step instructions for aircraft maintenance. Each lab is able to handle up to five Airmen in one module at the same time, allowing each ANG wing to individualize training to meet their specific needs.
Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas conducted a case study comparing the readiness between traditional instruction – where new Airmen gather around and are taught with a book in hand – and students taught in the XR Lab.
“For the group of students who [trained] the traditional way, 70% passed with 80% of them getting 100%, but the virtual reality group all passed with 100%,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Steven Sevigny, ANG XR Lab program manager. “The XR students were also far more rehearsed on their emergency procedures, so it produced better Airmen overall.”
The XR Lab is new to the ANG and has over 900 modules, allowing Airmen to practice different training scenarios as often as they need while reducing wear and tear on real-world equipment. Its goal is to modernize training across the guard force. With modernized training comes improved, quicker timelines, which the ANGRC aims to leverage with the minimal time ANG Airmen have to train.
“Going into the virtual world, we can do various different modules for anything from basic safe for maintenance [procedures], to refueling, running engines, and servicing,” Sevigny said. “It gives us the ability to have reps and sets in that environment where you can’t screw anything up, and you’re not taking an airplane out of a flying status.”
After ANG Airmen graduate tech school, they go back to their home station for mission essential skills training, which is a continued period of instruction to get familiarization training on the airframe they will be working on in the future.
Tech. Sgt. Devondte Pendergrass, a 213th Maintenance Squadron F-16 crew chief, reminisced on his time in the Air Force. “I wish I had this around when I was a new Airman,” Pendergrass joked.
He also remarked on how the XR Lab allows maintainers to go through any maintenance tasks as many times as they need, including tasks and processes they are not able to practice often. “This is definitely worthwhile, especially from a crew chief standpoint. It’s great to dive into tasks that don’t happen much,” Pendergrass said.
With the addition of the new XR Lab, the ANGRC is able to ensure ANG wings and geographically separated units are ready to fly, fix and fight.