By Theresa Hitchens on May 12, 2021 at 4:24 PM An MQ-9 Reaper with three Ghost Reaper pods attached awaits takeoff at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Syracuse, New York. WASHINGTON: Upgrades to the MQ-9 Reaper’s comms and targeting capabilities are being demo’d by the Air National Guard (ANG) during the Northern Edge 2021 exercise in the Arctic, with a goal to help the venerable drone “play an increased, more prominent role in the command and control arena of the battlefield.” The new pod-based capabilities will be flown onboard a 174TH ATKW MQ-9, according to a May 6 press release from the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing.