Los Angeles defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. will move its headquarters to Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. according to reports.

The official announcement is to be made today in Arlington, Va., several wire services reported late Monday, citing Maryland officials. The company announced in January that it would move from Century City to the East Coast in order to be closer to its military clients and was considering locations in both states.

Other defense contractors, such as Lockheed Martin Corp. in Bethesda, Md., also have their headquarters in the region.

The new headquarters will be either in western Fairfax County, near Washington Dulles International Airport, or near the Pentagon itself in the Crystal City area of Arlington, a company official told the Associated Press on background.

About 300 of Northrop Grumman’s senior employees will move to the Washington area, but the company intends to keep its aerospace division in the Los Angeles area. Northrop, which will release first-quarter earnings Wednesday, has 120,000 employees worldwide.

Northrop shares were down $1.39, or 2 percent, to $67.31 in Tuesday midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.