A 2020 budget request asks for more than 3,000 extra Hellfires, with an increased spend of £151million ($200million) more than last year. Hellfires are blasted from helicopters, Air Force jets and drones, but the US military now wants to deploy the air-to-surface weapons on Navy Littoral combat ships. Fixing Hellfires to the vessels will make them much more lethal at shorter and medium ranges.
Once fitted, the Hellfires can blast enemy drones, helicopters and low-flying aircraft at sea.
The Army is also planning to equip their Stryker armoured fighting vehicles with the vertically-launched Hellfires.
Hellfire’s 100lb high-explosive missiles have a maximum speed of 950mph and is fired to blast through armour.
The US military often battled the Taliban in Afghanistan and enemy troops in Iraq by raining down volleys of Hellfire strikes from the skies.
Hellfires are often used to take out tanks, buildings, bunkers and helicopters.
US military chiefs also hope to increase use of the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) II, an air-dropped weapon used for precision targeting.
They are capable of tracking moving targets and diverting course mid-flight before homing in on targets up to 40 miles away.
The SDB II includes integrated seeker systems with laser technology and infrared heat-seeking sensor targeting.
The Pentagon asked for for 7,000 more SDB IIs compared to last year.
US military ammunition stockpiles have been depleted by the ongoing battle against ISIS in Syria.
One military US leader warned defence capabilities had “atrophied” during 15 years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Air Force wants to bolster its supply of the laser-guided rockets, 2.75 inch Hydra Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System.