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

A sign for the National Security Agency (NSA), US Cyber Command and Central Security Service, is seen near the visitor’s entrance to the headquarters of the National Security Agency (NSA) at Fort Meade, Maryland, February 14, 2018. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Pentagon leaders expect Cybercom 2.0 to help thwart Chinese actors ‘living off the land’

Cyber

Sign with logo for Salesforce is visible on office tower in San Francisco, California, November 20, 2025. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Salesforce lands $5.6B Army contract for data analytics, cloud capabilities

Tech

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jose Sanchez reenlists during Warrior Shield 24, Republic of Korea, March 28, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Davin Tenbusch)

Some Marines could receive $50K retention bonus ‘kickers’ if they reenlist and switch their MOS

Tech

U.S. Soldiers assigned to 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment practice target lock-on against an incoming drone during Project Flytrap at Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels Training Area, Hohenfels, Germany, June 9, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elijah Magaña)

Army seeks acoustic detection systems to counter small drones

Tech

DIA headquarters at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. (Photo source: DIA website)

Defense Intelligence Agency seeks AI validation tools as Hegseth pushes for tech deployments

AI

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