U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Benjamin Cartwright, an infantry Marine with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment, launches the Instant Eye MK-2 Gen 3 unmanned aerial system during an exercise for Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory’s Marine Air-Ground Task Force Integrated Experiment on Camp Pendleton, Calif., July 9, 2016. US Marine Corps photo.

USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2016.

With the Navy releasing a “Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority” and the Marines releasing a Marine Corps Operational Concept in 2016 that both call for high-end technologies to succeed in a contested maritime environment, Marine Corps acquisition this year was focused on increasing lethality, situational awareness and maneuverability for the force. Read More →