Trump vows Iran will ‘pay the price’ & inside the Pentagon's drone revolution | Iran: the Latest

Trump has vowed Iran will “pay the price” after it launched multiple strikes on US bases throughout the Middle East. The latest escalation came up after the US bombed Iran in response to a Shahed drone downing an American Apache helicopter in the Gulf of Oman. The crew were rescued by an unmanned boat - a US first. Venetia Rainey speaks to former US Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks about what this week’s events tell us about the growing role of autonomous systems in the military. Plus, what is the Pentagon’s plan to combat the drone threat posed by enemies from Iran to China - and is it moving fast enough? Hicks and Aaron Sherman from the Atlantic Council talk about the Replicator project they launched in 2023 in the Department of Defence and why it’s more vital than ever. CONTRIBUTORS: Venetia Rainey, co-host and executive producer @venetiarainey Kathleen Hicks, former US Deputy Secretary of Defence Aaron Sherman, non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council CONTENT REFERENCED: How a cutting-edge AI drone boat saved defenceless US Apache pilots https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/06/09/apache-pilots-rescued-ai-drone-boat Move Fast and Scale: A Brief Insiders' History of the Replicator Initiative https://www.belfercenter.org/research-analysis/move-fast-and-scale-brief-insiders-history-replicator-initiative Producer: Peter Shevlin Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & Louisa Wells ► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor ► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk ► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/ #donaldtrump #iranconflict #straitofhormuz #usmilitary #pentagon #dronewarfare