WASHINGTON, D.C: The US State Department announced on Thursday (Friday in Manila) the approval of a maintenance contract worth up to $500 million for Saudi Arabia’s military helicopter fleet, the first with the kingdom since Joe Biden became president. Under the deal, a continuation of a previous agreement, the United States will provide 350 contractor technicians and two government officials over two years to handle the maintenance of the Saudi military’s Apache and Black Hawk attack helicopters as well as the future fleet of Chinook transports. Before his election Biden had promised to make Saudi leaders “pay” for the murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was killed by a team closely tied to the court of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In late January, Biden ordered a review of all arms contracts concluded by his predecessor, Donald Trump, with Saudi Arabia and other countries.