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

An unmanned aerial system hovers in the airspace above Fort McNair, Washington, D.C., during a Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) 401 counter-UAS (c-UAS) exercise Nov. 17-21, 2025. The exercise prepared military personnel to detect, identify, and neutralize such as those seen hovering. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Wesley Domalewski)

Pentagon’s counter-drone task force launches commercial solutions opening

Weapons

(Getty Images)

Pentagon sees ‘fragile’ progress in troubled program for modernizing background check system

IT

Screenshot of Lt. Gen. James Adams speaking during an assumption of directorship ceremony at DIA headquarters, Feb. 20, 2026.

‘Rainman’ takes charge of DIA

Tech

(Getty Images)

Pentagon looking to scale AI-infused enterprise task management platform to more than 150K users

AI

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosts a drone demonstration at the Pentagon, July 10, 2025. The event was hosted to portray the Secretary of Defense’s initiative of Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Alondra Y. Lopez Gonzalez)

Pentagon could award just 3 vendors for biggest phase of Drone Dominance Program

Weapons

East-Coast-based U.S. Naval Special Warfare Operators (SEALs) participate in a special operations forces exercise off the coast of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Nov. 3, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Bailey Wyman)

CIA, SOCOM gearing up for rapid capability assessment with an eye toward ‘field-forward’ ops

Tech

In this photo illustration, the OpenAI “ChatGPT” AI-generated answer to the question “What can AI offer to humanity?” is seen on a laptop screen on February 03, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Pentagon adding ChatGPT to its enterprise generative AI platform

AI

A U.S. Marine with III Marine Expeditionary Force familiarizes himself with maneuvering drones during the Marine Corps Attack Drone Competition on Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 7, 2025. During a two-week period, the Marine Corps Attack Drone Team trained and certified 3rd Marine Division Marines as attack drone operators, attack drone instructor, and payload specialist instructors, increasing the Division’s lethality and capacity of trained and certified attack drone operators and instructors. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joaquin Dela Torre)

Marine Corps seeks troops with small drone and AI expertise for warfighting lab fellowship

AI

Official photo for Major Gen. Lorna Mahlock, United States Marine Corps.

Lorna Mahlock set as Cybercom deputy commander amid major transition period for the organization

Cyber