The State Department has approved the possible sale of 5,000 AGM-114K/N/R missiles and related parts and training, Pentagon officials said. The estimated cost of the deal would be about $700 million, and dwarf previous shipments of Hellfire missiles to Iraq.

The move is not unexpected. Bloomberg News reported July 2 that State Department officials had told lawmakers informally that President Obama’s administration wanted to send at least 4,000 more Hellfire missiles to Iraq.

A former defense official with knowledge of the Hellfire program told Checkpoint earlier in July that while many reports have focused on the question of when Iraq will receive the first of the F-16 fighter jets it has ordered, it was the delivery of more Hellfire missiles that deserved closer attention and could have a more immediate impact in Iraq.

The Iraqi military burned through its inventory of about 300 Hellfire missiles in June as ISIL terrorists seized territory in numerous parts of the country. Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said last month that the United States would send a total of about 800 more by the end of July. They’re deployed from a few different aircraft, including the Iraqi air force’s AC-208 Cessna Caravan.

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