The White House looks to approve a proposed $300 million foreign military sale of precision-guided missile package to Saudi Arabia and a potential multibillion dollar order for F-16 aircraft from Bahrain, The Washington Times reported Wednesday.

A U.S. government official told The Times the approval of both transactions would be “significant” sales for two of key Gulf-area U.S. allies that currently face security threats and support the fight against the Islamic State militant group.

“Whereas the Obama administration held back on these, they’re now in the new administration’s court for a decision — and I would anticipate the decision will be to move forward,” the official added, according to the report.

The report said former President Barack Obama previously blocked the transfer of weapons to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain over human rights concerns.

Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein has said the U.S. Air Force will continue to use the A-10 Warthog aircraft for the service branch’s close-air support missions until 2021, Defense News reported Tuesday.

Valerie Insinna writes the Air Force general told reporters that the Defense Department will discuss plans for the future of the A-10 fleet, which was initially slated for retirement in 2018.

Goldfein added he wants the discussion on close-air support mission to move from a “platform-centric” discourse to a “family of systems” approach.

Aviation Week’s Lara Seligman reported the Air Force also mulls the procurement of 300 light-attack aircraft to support A-10s and other CAS planes in the fight against the Islamic State militant group.

Goldfein said the service branch may explore commercial-off-the-shelf designs for light fighters and engage companies such as Textron in the effort, according to the report.

The Air Force sent a budget request to President Donald Trump in January that includes an additional $8 million to study low-cost, low-end fighter aircraft, Seligman wrote.

Australia’s defense ministry will showcase a pair of Lockheed Martin-built F-35A fighter jets at the Australian International Airshow on March 3.

The airshow will mark the Australian debut of F-35 planes in conjunction with the country’s first Boeing-built EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, Australia’s air force said Tuesday.

“The F-35A will bring significant opportunities to Australian industry, with already over $800 million in local design and production work, which is expected to grow significantly as the program matures and production increases,” said Australian Defense Minister Christopher Payne.

Payne added EA-18G will introduce a dedicated electronic attack function to the Australian military.

Lockheed and the U.S. Air Force‘s training command will manage the deployment of Australia’s F-35s from Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

The fighter jets will return to the U.S. to facilitate training of Australian pilots.

Australia intends to procure 72 F-35As to replace the country’s fleet of FA-18A/B Hornets and expects the new aircraft fleet to enter service by late 2018.

U.S. Air Force airmen have performed a training flight using an updated version of the Lockheed Martin-built C-130J Super Hercules at Little Rock Air Force Base in an effort to test the operability of the aircraft’s new hardware and software features.

The Air Force said Tuesday airmen from the 19th and 314th Airlift Wings will collaborate over the next two years to evaluate C-130J Block 8.1 systems such as GPS, communications and friend-or-foe identification systems.

Block 8.1 enhancements are meant to help the Air Force comply with global air traffic management regulations.

Kyle Gauthier, a C-130J instructor pilot and flight commander at 61st Airlift Squadron, said the updated aircraft will help pilots obtain situational awareness and communicate with command-and-control centers worldwide.

C-130Js are designed to perform search-and-rescue, firefighting, aerial refueling, humanitarian relief and special operations in harsh environments.

A new report by the House Homeland Security Committee has found that a majority of U.S. airports do not implement “full employee screening” at access points and that conflict between government and industry stakeholders hampers efforts to build up aviation security.

The report titled “America’s Airports: The Threat From Within” is the product of a two-year investigation carried out by House Transportation and Protective Security Subcommittee Chairman John Katko (R-New York), the House panel said in a news release published Monday.

The document stated there are inconsistencies in the way air carrier and airport security officials train employees when it comes to responsible use of access and suspicious activity reporting.

The report also cited several examples of insider threats at airports such as drug and gun smuggling, attempt to detonate a bomb and employees’ involvement in terrorist activities abroad.

The House subpanel offered nine recommendations to mitigate risks of insider threats within the U.S. aviation sector and one of those is the call for the Transportation Security Administration and airports to review credentialing practices to ensure that airport employees adhere to stringent standards.

The Department of Homeland Security should collaborate with airports to find technology platforms designed to ensure security of employee access, the report added.