Jon Harper

Jon Harper is Managing Editor of DefenseScoop, the Scoop News Group’s online publication focused on the Pentagon and its pursuit of new capabilities. 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 (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) @Jon_Harper_

Articles by Author

An XQ-58A Valkyrie flies next to an F-35. (Marine Corps photo)

Valkyrie drone links with F-35s as Marines pursue ‘autonomous collaborative killer’ capability

Weapons

Robotic Combat Vehicle prototype during soldier experimentation at the National Training Center, NTC, Fort Irwin, CA from July to September 2023. (Photo by Savannah Baldwin)

Army envisions potential recompete for robotic combat vehicle program

Weapons

Bolt-M (Anduril image)

Marines to get new Bolt kamikaze drones from Anduril

Weapons

Defense Intelligence Agency headquarters (DIA photo)

DIA about to get authority to operate MARS capability on classified network

AI

Coyote Block 2 (RTX Corp. image)

Army awards big contract for Coyote interceptors amid growing demand for counter-drone weapons

Weapons

An MQ-9 Reaper contracted from General Atomics, is parked at Camp Wilson, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, June 15, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Anna Higman)

Marine Corps wants to mount high-performance computer on Reaper drones

Tech

U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division stand by after conducting a simulated force-on-force exercise as part of a Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation (MCCRE) on Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Field Bogue, North Carolina, Dec. 5, 2023. The MCCRE involves a range of scenarios and challenges that test the unit’s ability to plan, coordinate, and execute complex missions, including offensive and defensive operations, logistics, and communications. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Eric Dmochowski)

Marines planning to use large language models to help mine information repositories

AI

(Image courtesy of Epirus)

Marines to get new drone-killing microwave weapon designed for expeditionary ops

Weapons

A soldier wears an IVAS 1.2 headset. (Photo by Photo by Frederick Shear)

Anduril integrates AI tech into Army IVAS headsets

Emerging Tech