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

U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, makes an announcement aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 7, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sonny Escalante)

Centcom commander touts use of AI in fight against Iran during Operation Epic Fury

AI

A U.S. Air Force XQ-58A Valkyrie, an autonomous, low-cost tactical unmanned air vehicle, flies over Eglin Air Force Base’s Gulf Test and Training Range. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ilka Cole)

Pentagon, IC want industry to provide an ‘evaluation harness’ to standardize testing of AI systems

AI

Army Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd, nominee to be director of the National Security Agency, takes his seat before the start of his confirmation hearing in the Senate Select Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Cyber Command, engaged in war with Iran, gets new commander

Cyber

(Getty Images)

Pentagon says employees can create their own ‘custom AI assistants’ with new tech

AI

Screenshot of a DOD video of Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael and Defense Innovation Unit Director Travis Metz observing a drone dominance demonstration at Fort Benning, Ga., March 2, 2026. (DoW video by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Dennis Buzard)

British company tops leaderboard for Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program

Tech

(Getty Images)

Pentagon gets new CISO with appointment of Aaron Bishop

Cyber

U.S. Army Sgt. Jeffrey Davis, an electronic warfare specialist with the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, operates a dismounted spectrum awareness system during Exercise Lightning Surge 1 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Jan. 22, 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Duke Edwards)

Army solicits industry for portable platform to deliver RF effects

Tech

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