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

A B-2 Spirit returns to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, from a deployment to Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, May 9, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Devan Halstead)

Air Force drops 14 MOP bombs on Iranian nuclear sites during first operational use of the weapon

Weapons

The 37th Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Christopher J. Mahoney, a native of Massachusetts, cites the oath of reenlistment to Sgt. Alejandro Delarosa, a legal chief with Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa legal office and a native of Texas, in Belleau, France on May 25, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Juaquin Greaves)

Trump picks Marine to be next Joint Chiefs vice chairman

Tech

Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC), 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)

Trump nominates Adm. Caudle to be chief of naval operations

Tech

(Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

Pentagon tapping OpenAI, other vendors for ‘frontier AI’ projects

AI

(Getty Images)

Army recruits officers from Meta, OpenAI and Palantir to serve in new detachment

Tech

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Launch/Recovery Equipment) 2nd Class Diangelo Watson, from Jonesboro, Georgia, assigned to air department’s aircraft launch and recovery division, signals for an aircraft to take off on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) in the Pacific Ocean, Nov. 9, 2024. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class August Clawson)

Despite proposed cuts, Navy requirements for F/A-XX next-gen fighter ‘still valid,’ Joint Chiefs chairman says

Weapons

A graphical artist rendering of the F-47. (U.S. Air Force graphic)

Pentagon’s 2026 budget plan includes more than $4B for next-generation Air Force fighter jets

Weapons

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 06, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump picks new combatant commanders

Tech

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks at the AI+Expo in Washington, DC, June 4, 2025. (Photo by Jon Harper)

At AI conference, Gen. Caine calls for connecting with ‘founders and funders’ of emerging tech

Emerging Tech