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

Adm. Daryl Caudle utilizes the 1MC announcement system from the bridge of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87) to address the crew during a ship visit, Aug. 13, 2024. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nathan T. Beard)

Navy CNO says Golden Fleet battleship won’t be nuclear powered

Emerging Tech

(Photo posted by Derrick Anderson on his X social media account)

Derrick Anderson steps into SO/LIC role amid high demand for special operations forces, new tech

Tech

US President Donald Trump, alongside (L/R) Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2026. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump calls for $1.5T in defense spending in 2027, issues new executive order on contracting

Tech

The sign for Marine Corps Base Quantico is seen outside of the main gate on September 28, 2025 in Quantico, Virginia. Several hundred of the U.S. military’s top generals and admirals have been ordered to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia for a rare in person meeting this week so U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth can brief the senior officers in person on the warrior ethos that he envisions for the armed forces moving forward, according to officials from the Department of War. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Marine Corps announces new dates for generative AI workshop at Quantico

AI

(iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Davies sworn in as Pentagon CIO

IT

Chinese flag displayed on a laptop screen and DeepSeek logo displayed on a phone screen are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

New Pentagon report on China’s military notes Beijing’s progress on LLMs

AI

US President Donald Trump leaves after announcing the US Navy’s new Golden Fleet initiative, unveiling a new class of warships, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 22, 2025. President Donald Trump on December 22 announced a new class of heavily armed warships that will be named after himself — an honor usually reserved for US leaders who have left office. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump, Navy leaders reveal plans for new battleships armed with nukes, lasers, railguns and hypersonic missiles. Analysts anticipate problems.

Emerging Tech

Classroom in Bullard Hall at the Naval Postgraduate School. (Photo by Seaman Apprentice Abreen Padeken)

Naval Postgraduate School offering new accelerated master’s degree program in AI

AI

Then-Brig. Gen. Luke Cropsey, Department of the Air Force Integrating Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Command Control Communications and Battlefield Management (C3BM) provides an overview of the progress being made to stand up the directorate to the audience at the 9th Annual Life Cycle Industry Days (LCID) in Dayton, Ohio, July 30, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jim Varhegyi)

Luke Cropsey, Air Force’s C3BM exec, tapped for promotion to top acquisition job

Tech