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

drone, uav, uas, unmanned, artificial intelligence — (Getty Images) UAV with camera.

Air Force sees opportunities to scale production of drones, software for wars of attrition

Weapons

Guertin (right) tours the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), March 23, 2022. (Photo by Edward Cartagena)

Biden taps Nickolas Guertin to be Navy’s acquisition chief

R&D

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks briefs media during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Sept. 22, 2021. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Brittany A. Chase)

Hicks says Pentagon moving too slowly in transitioning DARPA tech to warfighters

R&D

707th Communications Squadron client system technicians update software for computers that will be used on Air Force networks at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Alexandre Montes)

Air Force awards $5.7B contract for enterprise IT as a service

IT

An XQ-58A Valkyrie low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle launches at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., Dec. 9, 2020. The flight successfully demonstrated the ability of new communications data to exchange information with an F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua King)

Air Force considering wide range of options to team robotic wingmen with other platforms

Emerging Tech

(Photo courtesy of L3Harris)

L3Harris reveals delivery timeline for VAMPIRE systems for Ukraine

Weapons

A carrier strike group transits the Pacific Ocean Jan. 25, 2020. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason Isaacs)

Navy on track to deploy Project Overmatch capabilities with carrier strike group in early 2023

Weapons

(Getty Images)

New $3B US military aid package for Ukraine includes VAMPIRE counter-drone systems

Weapons

(Getty Images)

Pentagon’s counter-UAS chief wants more widespread training on drone-killer systems

Weapons