Tony Capaccio writes the future contract was revealed in a notice sent by Pentagon acquisitions chief Frank Kendall to Congress last month.
Northrop’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft would help boost Navy carriers’ ability to detect incoming hostile aircraft and missiles, the report said.
The contract is expected to indicate yearly order batches: five aircraft in fiscal 2014, 2016 and 2018, four in 2015 and six in 2017.
Capaccio reports that the batch orders are intended to generate $370 million in savings.
A spokesman for the Naval Air Systems Command declined to give additional details on the potential contract until it has been awarded.