Jon Harper

Jon Harper is Editor-in-Chief of DefenseScoop. He leads an award-winning team of journalists in providing breaking news and in-depth analysis on military technology and the ways in which it is shaping how the Defense Department operates and modernizes. You can also follow him on X: @Jon_Harper_

Articles by Author

Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Randy A. George join “Fox and Friends” to discuss the new Department of Defense memorandum on Army transformation and acquisition reform, at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 1, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza)

Army buys Red Dragon long-range attack drones

Weapons

A quadcopter drone hovers in an indoor training area on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan 28, 2026. Many small, commercially availabe drones come equipped with high-definition camers and can be programmed to automatically transmit data to adversaries. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Theodore Gowdy)

DOD threatens ‘severe consequences’ for drone operators flying in restricted airspace

Tech

Terry Kalka, director of the director of the DOD-Defense Industrial Base Collaborative Information Sharing Environment, speaks at the Elastic Public Sector Summit presented by FedScoop, March 19, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Scoop News Group)

DOD Cyber Crime Center official warns industry about AI-boosted cyberattack ‘kill chain’

AI

This photograph shows the Anduril logo on display during the 55th edition of the International Paris Air Show (Salon international de l’aeronautique et de l’espace – SIAE) at the Paris–Le Bourget Airport, in Le Bourget, north of Paris on June 19, 2025. (Photo by Thibaud MORITZ / AFP/ via Getty Images)

Army awards Anduril $20B contract with an eye toward counter-drone capabilities

Tech

U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 25th Infantry Division, operates a First-Person View (FPV) drone during a FPV drone live-fire exercise at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Jan. 29, 2026. The LFX demonstrated the division’s ability to employ one-way attack drones and produce lethal effects. (Courtesy photo)

Army launches drone marketplace commercial solutions opening

Tech

U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, makes an announcement aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 7, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sonny Escalante)

Centcom commander touts use of AI in fight against Iran during Operation Epic Fury

AI

A U.S. Air Force XQ-58A Valkyrie, an autonomous, low-cost tactical unmanned air vehicle, flies over Eglin Air Force Base’s Gulf Test and Training Range. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ilka Cole)

Pentagon, IC want industry to provide an ‘evaluation harness’ to standardize testing of AI systems

AI

Army Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd, nominee to be director of the National Security Agency, takes his seat before the start of his confirmation hearing in the Senate Select Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Cyber Command, engaged in war with Iran, gets new commander

Cyber

(Getty Images)

Pentagon says employees can create their own ‘custom AI assistants’ with new tech

AI