Jon Harper

Jon Harper is Managing Editor of DefenseScoop, the Scoop News Group’s online publication focused on the Pentagon and its pursuit of new capabilities. 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 (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) @Jon_Harper_

Articles by Author

An aerial view of the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 15, 2023. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. John Wright)

Trump nominates Anduril executive, former special operations officer to be Army undersecretary

Tech

A U.S. Air Force Special Tactics operator with the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida, programs a surveillance drone to provide security at Eglin Range, Florida, Dec. 6, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by SrA Christopher H. Stolze)

SOCOM searching for reconfigurable ‘drone-in-a-box’ systems that can fly and drive

Emerging Tech

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visits Joint Task Force North, U.S. Northern Command, to see the efforts military men and women are undertaking in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to secure the southern border at Fort Bliss, Texas, Feb. 12, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Andrew R. Sveen)

Hegseth issues edict on DOD software acquisition

Tech

An aerial view of the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 15, 2023. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. John Wright)

DOD reviewing contracting policies, procedures and personnel to comply with Trump’s DOGE directive

Tech

Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, hosted Governor of Hawaiʻi Dr. Josh Green at USINDOPACOM headquarters, February 24. (Photo by Sgt. Angel Heraldez)

Combatant commands to get new generative AI tech for operational planning, wargaming

Emerging Tech

Senior Airman Austin Paisar, a weapons crew member by trade, communicates with an F-35 pilot prior to a mission. Paiser is serving as an F-35A Lightning II crew chief for the 421st Fighter Generation Squadron during Red Flag 25-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. (U.S. Air Force photo by Micah Garbarino)

Air Force leaders issue new warning about China-backed recruitment efforts by private companies

Tech

Screenshot of John Phelan testifying at his confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee, Feb. 27. 2025.

Trump’s Navy secretary nominee endorses joint collaboration with Air Force on drone enablers

Tech

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