First delivered to the Air Force in 1977, the planes are expected to be used until 2035. They are in demand worldwide. When the crew succeeds, they often don't hear the details of the seizures because they are 30,000 feet above the action. The crew of 23 usually fly for 10 to 12 hours, though, as in Desert Storm, they can be kept in the air for 24 hours, switching between teams of crew members. Similar to air traffic controllers, who take a break after every hour of work, the airmen who watch the radar screens switch out after two hours of trying to decipher the various trails they see 200 miles around them.
Smugglers come up with ingenious ways to fool the trackers.
In the mid-90s, some switched from small planes to 727s rigged so drugs could be kicked out the back at low altitudes. They emulated passenger traffic, staying in civilian airline lanes. The trick was discovered when one of the planes landed at an airport and a drug- sniffing dog was overpowered by sensory overload. Until then, the crews say they are happy here. Of the 730 metric tons of cocaine that passed through Colombia this year, about 350 metric tons comes to the United States, according to the Air Force.