Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon needs at least $69.7 billion more to cover war costs in Iraq through the end of this fiscal year, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

That amount includes $600 million to buy four additional Lockheed Martin Corp. F-22 fighters, Gates wrote Dec. 31 to Representative John Murtha, chairman of a House appropriations subcommittee on military spending.

“This estimate would fund operations through” Sept. 30, “replace combat loses, worn out or stressed equipment and replenish supplies,” Gates stated in a letter he labeled a personal assessment that didn’t speak for either the Bush administration or the incoming Obama administration.

The Bush administration hasn’t submitted its request. Still, lawmakers will likely use Gates’s estimate as a benchmark when assessing the new administration’s proposal.

Gates spokesman Geoff Morrell in an e-mail statement said the secretary “will now work with President-elect Obama and his team to update that estimate as necessary to reflect the priorities of the new commander in chief.” Gates “has committed to providing lawmakers with that new number as soon as possible,” Morrell said.

Congress already has approved $65.9 billion for this fiscal year for the conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates’s estimate includes combat costs in Afghanistan but not increasing U.S. force levels in Afghanistan from the current 34,000 to over 50,000; he said that spending would be included in a later estimate.

Funding the War

Congress approved $171 billion in fiscal 2007 and $187 billion in fiscal 2008 to fund the war on terror. Costs in Iraq and Afghanistan alone in fiscal 2008 averaged $13.6 billion per month, $10.9 billion of that for Iraq, according to Pentagon figures through Sept. 30. Afghanistan funding has averaged $2.7 billion a month.

Gates said $600 million should be included in any war spending bill to buy the four F-22s in addition to the 183 on contract. He and his deputy Gordon England last year repeatedly said they would request four more F-22s to replace combat losses.

The larger issue facing the Obama administration is whether to continue F-22 purchases beyond what would be a 187-aircraft program. The Air Force, supported by lawmakers from states with F-22 subcontractors or depots, has pressed for the additional planes. Gates and England have opposed this.

Gates’s spending estimate includes $3.6 billion to increase, train and equip the Afghan National Army. He said that $7.5 billion of the $69.7 billion would pay for replacing Boeing Co. AH-64 Apache attack and CH-47 transport helicopters; AM General Corp. Hummer vehicles and trailers and tractors built by various contractors.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 6, 2009 18:03 EST