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LOS ANGELES — In less than two years, Northrop Grumman Corp. has catapulted from a distant fourth among defense contractors to a strong third. If its proposed acquisition of TRW Inc. goes through, it could soon hit No. 1. 

The rapid growth came as Northrop bought Litton Industries, then Newport News Shipbuilding and several other smaller companies. Last month, it made a $5.9 billion unsolicited bid for TRW. 

The moves reflect a decade of consolidation in the defense industry during which a Reagan-era hodgepodge of contractors shrank to a handful of large, powerful one-stop shopping conglomerates. 

The consolidation was encouraged by the Defense Department, which wanted fewer, stronger companies competing for shrinking dollars. 

But critics question whether taxpayers have benefitted from the trend. They say less competition among contractors has meant higher prices and less incentive for technological innovation. 

“It’s basic economics,” said P.W. Singer, Olin Fellow in the foreign policy studies program at the Brookings Institution. “You have fewer firms out there bidding on these contracts, and so the prices don’t get driven down by competition.” 

The situation also makes it tough for small companies to grow and join the major players. Analysts say technology moves so fast, the government can no longer promise long-term contracts, making it nearly impossible for small firms to spread research and development costs over many years. 

“You don’t want to commit to buy a unit for the next 20 years because it may have a shelf-life of three or four years,” said Sam Gejdenson, a consultant and former congressman from Connecticut. Experts say the consolidation trend peaked in 1996, when the Department of Justice balked at approving the purchase of Northrop by Lockheed Martin Corp. 

“That’s the first time the government stepped up and said, ’We’ve seen enough,”’ said Christopher Hellman, a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C. 

Gejdenson and others say the Department of Justice is sensitive to issues of competition and has slowed the pace of major deals in recent years. Justice officials, along with the Pentagon, rejected a proposed combination of General Dynamics and Newport News Shipbuilding last year because it would limit competition for nuclear ships.