U.S. Marines test LAV mortar and drone integration in Puerto Rico

U.S. Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted an extensive series of combined arms training exercises at Camp Santiago, Puerto Rico, throughout March 2026, integrating light armored vehicles, attack and reconnaissance drones, vehicle-mounted mortar systems, and MV-22B Osprey assault operations into a sustained training package that tested the unit’s full expeditionary combat capability.

The exercises involved Light Armored Reconnaissance Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/6, and Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, giving the 22nd MEU an opportunity to rehearse the combined arms integration that defines modern expeditionary warfare before potential operational deployment.

The breadth of systems employed — from tiltrotor assault aircraft to first-person view attack drones — reflects the MEU’s requirement to operate across the full spectrum of ground combat tasks in austere, distributed environments with minimal external support.

Training events spanned nearly two weeks. On March 18, Marines operated Light Armored Vehicles during maneuver and patrol training, rehearsing the kind of mobile reconnaissance and screening operations the LAV platform is designed to support.

The unit conducted dedicated attack drone training using the Neros Archer first-person view drone, with operators from Light Armored Reconnaissance Company flying the system against simulated targets. Also brought a vehicle-mounted mortar live-fire range combining the M1A2 81mm Mortar System and the M252A2 81mm mortar with Stalker drone integration, while VMM-263 conducted MV-22B Osprey landing operations at the installation on the same date.

The inclusion of the Neros Archer FPV drone alongside traditional platforms is a notable feature of the training design. FPV attack drones — small, fast, and capable of delivering a lethal payload with precision — have become one of the defining weapons of contemporary ground combat, particularly following their widespread use in Ukraine. Their integration into a Marine light armored reconnaissance element signals that the Corps is actively incorporating this capability into its expeditionary formations rather than treating it as a specialized or supplementary asset.

The Stalker drone used in conjunction with the mortar live-fire range adds a reconnaissance and target acquisition layer to indirect fire operations. By pairing a surveillance drone with a vehicle-mounted mortar system, the unit can observe targets, adjust fire, and confirm effects without exposing personnel to direct observation — a combination that compresses the sensor-to-shooter timeline and allows mortar crews to engage fleeting targets more effectively.

The MV-22B Osprey, operated by VMM-263, gives the MEU its vertical assault and logistics lift capability. The aircraft combines the speed and range of a fixed-wing turboprop with the vertical takeoff and landing ability of a helicopter, allowing Marines to insert and extract from locations beyond the reach of conventional rotary-wing aircraft. Its presence in the Puerto Rico training package indicates the MEU was rehearsing full amphibious assault and air assault task organization, not just individual weapons qualification.

All U.S. military forces involved in the Caribbean deployment are operating in support of U.S. Southern Command’s mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the administration’s stated priorities of disrupting illicit drug trafficking and protecting the homeland — the operational context that gives the 22nd MEU’s presence in the region its current strategic framing.

Camp Santiago, located on Puerto Rico’s eastern coast, provides a training environment with terrain and conditions suited to expeditionary rehearsal, and has been used by Marine and Army units deploying to or operating in the Caribbean and Latin American theater.