SOSi Awarded USD 260M DEA Language Support Contract

Virginia-based defense and technology services private firm SOS International, LLC (SOSi) has secured a substantial language services contract from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), valued at approximately USD 260m, according to a press release from July 3, 2025. 

Founded in 1989, SOSi has a long-standing relationship with the DEA, securing contracts with the agency since its first year in operation. This enduring partnership marks what CEO Julian Setian calls a “35-year legacy of supporting the DEA’s mission.”

Steve Iwicki, SOSi Senior Vice President for Intelligence Solutions, added that the new contract “expands SOSi’s partnership with DEA, allowing us to further support the agency’s critical mission of enforcing controlled substance laws and regulations.”

SOSi’s record as a services provider for the US government counts 275 federal awards just between 2020 and June 30th, 2025. The contractor has a portfolio of many different services, including technology, logistics, human services, and intelligence (of which language services is a subset).

SOSi also delved into various technologies from the start, and acquired a minority stake in language tech company and Virginia neighbor AppTek in 2020. That same year, SOSi was awarded a Department of Justice contract worth up to USD 400m.

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The company has worked on hundreds of language services contracts, including one with the DEA in 2018 and another one with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in 2021.

This 2025 DEA contract falls under the US Title III electronic surveillance program, which directly supports the enforcement of controlled substance laws and regulations across the country. Some of the activities SOSi is to provide under language services are real-time monitoring and advanced analysis of intercepted communications.

Setian added that over the next year, the plan is to introduce SOSi’s “PANDION,” a platform developed by SOSi’s subsidiary NorthStar Systems that uses AI to process audio and data communications automatically.