A deal, expected to be a merger of equals, could be announced by Monday, the person said. The companies have a combined market value of about $33.5 billion (25.5 billion pounds).

Harris, based in Florida, makes communications and electronics for battlefields, weather reporting and air traffic control. L3, based in New York, makes communications and electronics for the military, aviation, homeland security and others.

Neither Harris, nor L3, responded to requests for comment. The potential deal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

(Reporting by Gregory Roumeliotis in New York and Timothy Gardner in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)