U.S. RELIES MORE ON CONTRACTORS TO FIGHT DRUG TRADE

During the more than five years that three Northrop Grumman Corp.
employees were held hostage in Colombia, captured while on a Defense
Department job, the U.S. steadily increased its use of contractors to
help fight the drug trade in dangerous parts of the world.

Although the biggest defense contractors have shown no interest in
providing teams of armed security guards similar to those in Iraq
from Blackwater Worldwide or DynCorp International, they are
increasingly willing to operate close to danger.

The U.S. spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year hiring pilots,
mechanics, and military and police trainers to combat the drug trade
in South American countries, as well as Afghanistan and other Central
Asian states. Lockheed Martin Corp. also supports peacekeeping forces
in Darfur. Last year, the Defense Department tapped Northrop as one
of five to lead a five-year contract focused on fighting terrorism
and the drug trade. The contract could be worth as much as $15
billion if fully funded, but the work, under the Counter
Narcoterrorism Technology Program Office, will be assigned through
small contracts depending on the government's needs. Others given a
shot at competing for the work include Blackwater, Raytheon Co.,
Lockheed and Arinc Inc.

"The military is not enamored of these other missions," said Brian
Jenkins, a senior adviser at Rand Corp. and former Army Special
Forces officer. The Pentagon has awarded Northrop seven smaller
contracts as part of the larger counterdrug contract, but details are
classified. Northrop spokesman Randy Belote said the company is
making greater inroads into that line of business as such efforts
become more high-tech. "It's moving more into the electronic
surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance realm, so it's
perfectly aligned with our business," he said.

Aiming to stay ahead of tapering budgets and shifting Pentagon
priorities, mainstream defense contractors seek to strike a balance
between pursuing contracts that may be worth only a few million
dollars while exposing them and their employees to political and
physical risks. The Northrop subsidiary, California Microwave, that
employed the hostages -- Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith
Stansell -- ceased work on its Defense Department antidrug contract
after their plane crashed in 2003. A fourth Northrop contractor,
Thomas Janis, was shot to death after the crash. All three of the
hostages were kept on Northrop's payroll during their ordeal, and the
company said it "has been engaged with the three families" since the
hostage crisis began.

DynCorp, one of the most prominent players in counterdrug missions,
has been working on counterdrug efforts in Colombia since 1991 and
holds a large State Department contract to help with drug-eradication
efforts in Afghanistan.

DynCorp spokesman Greg Lagana acknowledged that such work carries a
certain amount of risk, but such contracts also "use a lot of the
strengths that we have as a company."