FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Inside Indiana Business): A defense industry contractor with a presence in Fort Wayne has announced a merger agreement.

Florida-based Harris Corp. (NYSE: HRS) and L3 Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LLL) in New York say the combination will create the sixth-largest defense company in the country. In early-2015, Harris completed the $4.75 billion acquisition of Exelis, a long-time manufacturer of military radio technology in Fort Wayne.

Shortly after the acquisition, Harris consolidated the communications equipment work in northeast Indiana at a facility in New York, pulling 360 jobs from the area. Greater Fort Wayne Inc. says Harris Corp. currently employs more than 550 in Allen County at an operation that produces geospatial and satellite software and serves other engineering and research and development functions. At its peak, Exelis employed some 1,700 in Fort Wayne.

The companies together have about 38 million employees and annual revenue of $16 billion. The deal is expected to close mid-next year.