Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, California – A Marine from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment flies the Black Hornet, a small unmanned aerial system, July 29, 2016 during the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Integrated Experiment (MIX-16), at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California. The Marines use the Black Hornet to scout ahead, while on patrol. This gives them an advantage over the enemy by increasing their knowledge of where and what equipment the enemy has. 3/5 was designated by the Commandant of the Marine Corps to be the experimental force for MIX-16, which is being used to test new equipment and concepts provided by the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL). MCWL identifies possible challenges of the future and develops new war fighting concepts and tests new ideas to help develop equipment that meets the challenges of the future operating environment. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Thor J. Larson/Released)