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. Air Force Gen. Ken Wilsbach, commander of Air Combat Command, speaks to Capt. Nick “Laz” Le Tourneau, F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team commander and pilot, following the team’s certification flight at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Jan. 24, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Matthew Coleman-Foster)

Gen. Wilsbach, newly confirmed by the Senate, faces major challenges as Air Force chief

Tech

A sign is seen before a checkpoint at Quantico Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia on September 29, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Marine Corps postpones generative AI workshop due to lapse in appropriations

AI

Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, claps during the 144th Commencement Exercises at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, May 21, 2025. (DHS photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Mikaela McGee.)

Trump nominates cyber expert for Coast Guard commandant

Tech

(Getty Images)

Army acquisition chief anticipates funding boost for FUZE program

Emerging Tech

U.S. Air Force Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, delivers keynote remarks during the Security Forces Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course graduation ceremony at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Aug. 8, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Michael Sanders)

UPDATED: Gen. Bussiere still set to retire from Air Force

Tech

U.S. Army Sgt. David Ngo, a UH-60 helicopter repairer with Detachment 2, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment (General Support), Washington National Guard, services a UH-60L Black Hawk after medevac training at Yakima Training Center, Wash., July 20, 2025. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Adeline Witherspoon)

Army needs to ask for ‘the right data’ along with right to repair, acquisition chief says

Tech

U.S. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, the commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), and Ecuadorian Chief of Defense Gen. Henry Delgado Salvador sign a Communication Information Security Memorandum of Agreement in Santo Domingo, Ecuador, September 22, 2025. (Photo courtesy U.S. Embassy Ecuador)

Hegseth announces, without explanation, that Southcom commander Adm. Holsey is retiring

Tech

A C100 drone flies on Fort Hood, Texas, Sept. 17, 2025. The 1st Cavalry Division is currently modernizing its formation with updated drone training as a part of its “Pegasus Charge” transforming in contact initiative. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jacob Nunnenkamp)

Army ‘on a path’ to meeting Hegseth’s ambitious drone goals

Tech

Soldiers assigned to Assault Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, head out on a patrol during a field training exercise, demonstrating Next Generation Command and Control AN/PRC-166 radio technology on Fort Carson, Colorado, September 18, 2025. The NGC2 ecosystem integrated software applications, infrastructure, data, and transport into a unified operational architecture, providing commanders with real-time information to make more, better and faster decisions. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. William Rogers)

Army preparing to stand up new organization to oversee its data environment

Tech