Dr. Jon “Blade” Hackett is a quiet and confident professional with a long history in the small tactical robotics space, currently serving as the Intelligent Robotic and Autonomous Systems program manager at Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC), a position he has held since 2010.

Prior to joining the civil service, Blade served over twenty years as an Officer of Marines, with the preponderance of that time devoted to aviation as an AH-1W pilot. As a Cobra pilot, Blade deployed across the globe and served in combat operations in Bosnia-Hercegovina, Somalia, Albania, the former Republic of Zaire, and Iraq. He served as the Commanding Officer of HMLA-269 during their final combat rotation to Iraq in 2009. While serving as the MARSOC Air/Fires Officer from 2006-2008, Blade served as the Command’s first SUAS program manager, a billet that introduced him to the world of small tactical robotics and ultimately brought him back to MARSOC as a civilian upon retirement from active duty, and thereby changing the course of his
professional life.

In his current capacity Dr. Hackett is directly involved in all aspects of planning, programming, budgeting, procurement, fielding, training, operation, sustainment, logistics, and disposition of MARSOC’s multi-domain small tactical robotic inventory. Dr. Hackett is closely tied MARSOC’s uniformed operators and leads a small team of civilian robotics professionals developing and writing requirements, scouting technology, leading development projects and RDT&E efforts, developing operational concepts and concepts of employment, and guiding the day-to-day execution of a world-class small tactical robotics program.

With a PhD in Unmanned Systems applications, Dr. Hackett continues to break new ground in the advancement of small tactical robotic theory, technology, and AI implementation with the vision of creating cybernetic ecosystems to allow human and robotic agents to operate seamlessly together at the speed of machines and data. In this pursuit, Dr. Hackett works closely with tactical robotics professionals from every corner of the U.S. DoD, other US Government Agencies, global SOF partners, industry, and academia. Dr. Hackett has a Master’s Degree in Global Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics.