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 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

U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet in the Oval Office at the White House on February 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump, Modi announce new US-India autonomous systems partnership

Emerging Tech

Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command hosted distinguished visitors at Falcon Peak on Fort Carson, Colorado, Oct. 30, 2024. Falcon Peak is a USNORTHCOM led counter-small unmanned aircraft system experiment. (U.S. Department of Defense photos by Josh Armstrong)

NORAD commander says hundreds of drone incursions were detected at US military installations

Tech

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (Centre L) and British Defence Secretary John Healey react as they meet, on the eve of a NATO defence ministers’ meeting at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, on February 12, 2025. (Photo by Johanna Geron / POOL / AFP)

Hegseth puts onus on allies to provide ‘overwhelming share’ of weapons to Ukraine

Tech

White Sands, N.M. (February 09, 2020) — Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic engineers travelled to New Mexico to validated M-code on Joint Light Tactical Vehicle test platforms like the ones pictured here, resulting in the Marine Corps obtaining U.S. Space Force certification for next-generation GPS technology. (U.S. Navy photo by Joe Bullinger/Released)

Marine Corps looking for vendors to demo tech for mounted assured resilient navigation

Tech