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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

NAVAL BASE CORONADO (May 15, 2024) – Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) operate remotely in San Diego Bay. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Claire M. DuBois)

Navy to establish USVRON 7, adding another robotic ship squadron to the force

Weapons

Daniel Driscoll testifies at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to be secretary of the Army, Jan, 30, 2025. (Screenshot from video on Congress.gov)

Trump’s nominee for Army secretary calls for buying more commercial off-the-shelf tech

Tech

The full Super Blue Moon is centered in the spires of the U.S. Air Force Memorial early in the morning on August 19, 2024, in Arlington, VA. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)

Air Force pondering CCA drones that don’t require runways as officials plan next increment

Weapons

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks after being sworn in by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House on January 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Pete Hegseth, Trump’s new defense secretary, issues message vowing to ‘rapidly’ field emerging tech

Emerging Tech

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pumps his fist after a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Pete Hegseth narrowly wins confirmation to be Trump’s defense secretary

Tech

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Transporter 12 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 14, 2025. Its payload includes Otter, an NPS CubeSat suite. (Credit: SpaceX)

NRO, Navy launch experimental Otter CubeSat

Space

(Getty Images)

Pentagon to launch new study focused on non-terrestrial networks and protocols

Tech

Joe DiBenedetto, a civilian contractor aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) does flight pre-checks on a Mk. 4.7 Golf Aerosonde drone on the flight deck while operating in the Philippine Sea, March 30, 2024. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Hannah Fry)

Navy aims to expand vendor pool for COCO drones and ISR support

Tech

NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO (Feb. 5, 2024) The first four Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Crafts (GARCs) are delivered to Unmanned Surface Vessel Squadron 3 (USVRON 3). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kelby Sanders)

Navy ramping up production of autonomous GARC vessels

AI