Critical upgrades to the MQ-9A Reaper's mission have reached initial operational capability, an official announced Tuesday at the Modern Day Marine conference.

The service’s Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) program -- part of the Unmanned Aircraft System Expeditionary program (MUX) -- is undergoing a series of upgrades with payloads and capabilities.

While Increment One consisted of upgrades to ground control stations, airframes and Sky Tower I -- a network extension program -- Increment II goes further, Col. Leigh Irwin, program manager of multi-mission tactical unmanned aerial systems, said.

The MUX MALE Increment II Capability Spiral consists of a secure mission control element, Sky Tower II pod, electronic warfare pod, proliferated low Earth orbit satellite communications system, maritime domain awareness pod and a detect and avoid system. This increment recently reached IOC, Irwin said.

“The MQ-9A will continue to expand the [Marine Air-Ground Task Force’s] access across the Pacific, coupling aviation presence and persistence. Increment II payloads and capabilities, such as airborne network extension, electronic support, pLEO communications, and MDA sensors, empower the MAGTF and partner decision-makers with shared awareness across distributed forces and close kill chains faster along remote littorals,” according to the Marine Corps aviation plan released in February.

In its fiscal year 2027 budget request, the Navy is asking for five additional MQ-9As, for a total of $118 million. This will “increase tactical flexibility as well as aircraft availability,” the documents state.