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. Army Stryker M1127 Reconnaissance Vehicles, assigned to Lightning Platoon, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, are staged to demonstrate anti-UAS capabilities during the static display portion of Project Flytrap 4.0, at Bemowo Piskie Training Area, July 29, 2025. Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment joined the British army’s 1st Battalion, Royal Yorkshire Regiment, July 27 to August 1, 2025, to train and test technology and tactics to defeat unmanned aerial systems (UAS) threats during Project Flytrap. Project Flytrap 4.0 is the fourth in a series of counter-UAS training events conducted by Soldiers from the U.S. and U.K. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alejandro Carrasquel)

Army moving forward with ‘sled’ concept for maneuver air defense against drones, other aircraft

Tech

Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll fires the M250 while visiting Fort Campbell, Ky., September 9, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Resnick)

Driscoll teases major Army acquisition reorganization in fiery speech at AUSA

Emerging Tech

Kirsten Davies, nominee to be chief information officer of the Defense Department, arrives for her Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Thursday, September 18, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)

Senate committee advances Davies nomination for Pentagon CIO

IT

Airmen from the 67th Cyberspace Wing review daily tasks at Joint Base San Antonio – Lackland’s Medina annex, Sept. 5, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration by Jason W. Edwards)

Wilsbach, Trump’s pick for Air Force chief, notes retention and training of cyber experts ‘suffering’

Cyber

An upgraded Ground Based Interceptor with a Capability Enhanced-II Block 1 Exo-Atmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) is launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, during Flight Test Ground-based Midcourse Defense Weapon System-12, or FTG-12, on December 11, 2023. (Photo by Ryan Keith)

Missile Defense Agency looking to upgrade algorithms to improve object classification

AI

Hung Cao, nominee to serve as under secretary of the Navy, attends his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)

Hung Cao tasked with modernizing Navy’s IT, business systems

IT

Screenshot of Mark Roosevelt Ditlevson, acting assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs, testifying at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee military and foreign affairs subcommittee hearing, on addressing unauthorized drone activity over U.S. military installations, April 29, 2025.

Trump submits nomination for top Pentagon homeland defense policy post

Tech

Tech. Sgt. Alejandra Martinez, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing security manager and executive administration non-commissioned officer-in-charge, reviews policies and procedures at her workstation at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar on Oct. 18, 2019. National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, observed in October, is intended to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John Wilkes)

DOD to cut back on mandatory cybersecurity training

Cyber

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata tour the Roosevelt Pavilion at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., Aug. 6, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Aiko Bongolan)

Pentagon leadership directs DOD civilian employee supervisors to expedite removal of underperformers

Tech