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 aerial view of the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 15, 2023. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. John Wright)

DOD reviewing contracting policies, procedures and personnel to comply with Trump’s DOGE directive

Tech

Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, hosted Governor of Hawaiʻi Dr. Josh Green at USINDOPACOM headquarters, February 24. (Photo by Sgt. Angel Heraldez)

Combatant commands to get new generative AI tech for operational planning, wargaming

Emerging Tech

Senior Airman Austin Paisar, a weapons crew member by trade, communicates with an F-35 pilot prior to a mission. Paiser is serving as an F-35A Lightning II crew chief for the 421st Fighter Generation Squadron during Red Flag 25-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. (U.S. Air Force photo by Micah Garbarino)

Air Force leaders issue new warning about China-backed recruitment efforts by private companies

Tech

Screenshot of John Phelan testifying at his confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee, Feb. 27. 2025.

Trump’s Navy secretary nominee endorses joint collaboration with Air Force on drone enablers

Tech

An F-16 Fighting Falcon from Eglin Air Force Base flies over a high school football game in Niceville, Fla., Sept. 24, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Tristan McIntire)

Air Force envisions air-to-air combat role in Golden Dome missile defense

Weapons

Daniel Driscoll, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of the U.S. Army, speaks during a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Daniel Driscoll confirmed as Army secretary for Trump administration

Tech

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth walks with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. after arriving at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Jan. 27, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza)

Trump removes Gen. Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announces nominee to replace him

Tech

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti interviews with Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on the Today Show at Rockefeller Center in New York, May 23, 2024. Franchetti traveled to New York City to celebrate maritime service during Fleet Week New York and discuss her priorities for America’s Warfighting Navy. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Michael B. Zingaro)

Trump fires Franchetti as chief of naval operations

Tech

A U.S. Air Force Airman assigned to the 27th Special Operations Wing remotely piloted aircraft community checks weather during an Exercise Talon Spear at Melrose Air Force Range, N.M., June 20, 2023. (Photo by Senior Airman Alexcia Givens)

SOCOM looking to acquire new drone-launched glide bombs

Weapons