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

A U.S. Army Origin robotic weapons system uses a tethered UAS to help Soldiers perform reconnaissance of an area during Project Convergence 22 experimentation Oct. 26, 2022, on Fort Irwin, California. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jaaron Tolley)

‘The simpler, the better’: Army learning lessons from soldier experimentation with robotic vehicle controllers

Weapons

An Aerovel Flexrotor unmanned aerial vehicle launches from the deck of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) in the Gulf of Oman, in an image released Oct. 6, 2023. (Photo by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs)

US Navy task forces use slew of drones in recent operation to keep tabs on Iranian military assets

Weapons

XQ-58 (Photoc curtesy of 96th Test Wing, 40th Flight Test Squadron. Photo by Master Sgt. Tristan McIntire)

Marines kick-off flight testing of XQ-58 Valkyrie drone for ‘penetrating affordable autonomous collaborative killer’ initiative

Weapons

Space Rapid Capabilities Office logo (Space RCO image)

Space Force-funded accelerator picks 6 US and foreign companies for Hyperspace Challenge

Space

Textron’s M3 Ripsaw robotic combat vehicle technology demonstrator. (Textron photo)

Army picks vendors to prototype robotic combat vehicles

Weapons

Spc. Layne Alfieri, a soldier assigned to 1st Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, dons an Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) 1.2 prototype during the IVAS 1.2 Phase One User Assessment held by Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier on Fort Drum, August 22, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Jason Amadi, PEO Soldier Public Affairs)

Army awards Microsoft $95M for additional IVAS 1.2 headsets, virtual trainers

Emerging Tech

3D rendering of a computer board with circuits and chip. (iStock/Getty Images)

Air Force issues BAA for ‘extreme’ computing tech

AI

(iStock/Getty Images)

Pentagon announces initial awards for $2B Microelectronics Commons program

Tech

A common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB) launches from Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii, March 19, 2020, during a Department of Defense flight experiment. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)

Delay in fielding of hypersonic weapon ‘not that big a deal,’ Army acquisition chief says

Weapons