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

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall makes remarks during the Senior Leader Orientation Course at Joint Base Andrews, Md., April 11, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich)

Air Force’s next-gen fighter program transitions to critical development phase

Weapons

NATO flag (Getty Images)

Emerging tech to have prominent role in NATO’s new strategic concept

Emerging Tech

A U.S. soldier of 4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), communicates over the radio during Saber Junction 18 at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Sept. 23 , 2018. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dhy’Nysha Shaw)

Ukraine-Russia war teaching US military a lesson about secure communications

IT

U.S. Army General Christopher Cavoli testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. Gen. Cavoli has been nominated by President Joe Biden to be the commander of United States European Command and commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Allied Command Operations. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

General tapped for NATO supreme command vows to prioritize cyber, information ops

Cyber

A lethal miniature aerial missile system flies during an exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Sept. 2, 2020. (Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler Forti)

American kamikazes: Pentagon has big plans for suicide drones

Weapons

Vice Adm. Jon Hill testifies at a House Armed Services Committee hearing March 12, 2020.

MDA director unsure if new hypersonic missile interceptor can be fielded before 2030

R&D

(Getty Images)

Special Operations Command trying to prepare for quantum computing threat

Cyber

Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu participates in a virtual event for Engineers Week, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Feb. 23, 2022. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

Pentagon working with allies on secretive autonomous drone project

Weapons

A U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman deploys an unmanned aerial system during a training mission on July 15, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Aven Santiago)

Special Operations Command looking to ditch some of its drones, buy new ISR capabilities

Cyber