General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American
publicly traded
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...
,
aerospace
Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...
and
defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
corporation headquartered in Reston,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest
defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the United States by total sales. The company is a
Fortune 100
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along w ...
company, and was ranked No. 94 in 2022.
Formed in 1954 with the merger of submarine manufacturer
Electric Boat
An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators.
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...
and aircraft manufacturer
Canadair
Canadair Ltd. was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. In 1986, its assets were acquired by Bombardier Aerospace, the aviation division of Canadian transport conglomerate Bombardier Inc.
Canadair's origins lie in the establishm ...
, the corporation today consists of ten subsidiary companies with operations in 45 countries. The company's products include
Gulfstream The Gulf Stream is a warm Atlantic Ocean current.
Gulf Stream or Gulfstream may also refer to: Places
*Gulf Stream, Florida, a town in the United States
Art, entertainment, and media
*''Gulf Stream Magazine'', a literary magazine at Florida Intern ...
business jets,
Virginia- and
Columbia-class nuclear-powered submarines,
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers,
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
tanks and
Stryker armored fighting vehicles.
In 2021, General Dynamics had worldwide sales of $38.85 billion and a workforce of approximately 103,000 full-time employees. The current
chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
and
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(CEO) is
Phebe Novakovic
Phebe Novakovic is an American businesswoman and former intelligence officer. She serves as the Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of General Dynamics. As of 2018, she is listed as the world's 25th most powerful woman in business by ''Forbes' ...
.
History
Electric Boat
General Dynamics traces its ancestry to
John Philip Holland
John Philip Holland ( ga, Seán Pilib Ó hUallacháin/Ó Maolchalann) (24 February 184112 August 1914) was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, ''Hol ...
's Holland Torpedo Boat Company. In 1899,
Isaac Rice
Isaac Leopold Rice (February 22, 1850 – November 2, 1915) was a German-born Jewish American businessman, investor, musicologist, author, and chess patron. bought the company from Holland and renamed it Electric Boat Company.
Electric Boat was responsible for developing the
U.S. Navy's first modern
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s which were purchased by the Navy in 1900.
In 1906, Electric Boat subcontracted submarine construction to the
Fore River Shipyard in
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...
, to build the submarines they had designed and won contracts for. Between 1917 and 1924, the company was named Submarine Boat Corporation.
In 1933 Electric Boat acquired ownership of a shipyard in
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is ...
, to build submarines. The first submarine built in Groton to be delivered to the U.S. Navy was the
USS ''Cuttlefish'' in 1934.
Electric Boat was cash-flush but lacking in work following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, during which it produced 80 submarines for the Navy, with its workforce shrinking from 13,000 to 4,000 by 1946.
President and chief executive officer
John Jay Hopkins
John Jay Hopkins (October 15, 1893 – May 3, 1957) was founder and president of General Dynamics from 1952 to 1957.
Hopkins was born in Santa Ana, California.
He was assistant to the Treasury Secretary. In 1937, he joined Electric Boat as a law ...
started looking for companies that would fit into Electric Boat's market in hopes of diversifying.
Canadair purchase
Canadair
Canadair Ltd. was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. In 1986, its assets were acquired by Bombardier Aerospace, the aviation division of Canadian transport conglomerate Bombardier Inc.
Canadair's origins lie in the establishm ...
was owned by the Canadian government and was suffering from the same post-war malaise as Electric Boat. It was up for sale, and Hopkins bought the company for $10 million in 1946. The factory alone was worth more than $22 million, according to the Canadian government's calculations,
excluding the value of the remaining contracts for planes or spare parts. However, Canadair's production line and inventory systems were in disorder when Electric Boat purchased the company. Hopkins hired Canadian-born mass-production specialist H. Oliver West to take over the president's role and return Canadair to profitability. Shortly after the takeover, Canadair began delivering its new
Canadair North Star
The Canadair North Star is a 1940s Canadian development, for Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), of the Douglas DC-4. Instead of radial piston engines used by the Douglas design, Canadair used Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engines to achieve a higher cruisin ...
(a version of the
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...
) and was able to deliver aircraft to
Trans-Canada Airlines
Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGrego ...
,
Canadian Pacific Airlines, and
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) well in advance of their contracted delivery times.
Defense spending increased with the onset of the Cold War, and Canadair went on to win many Canadian military contracts for the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
and became a major aerospace company. These included
Canadair CT-133 Silver Star trainer, the
Canadair Argus
The Canadair CP-107 Argus (company designation CL-28) is a maritime patrol aircraft designed and manufactured by Canadair for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). In its early years, the Argus was reputedly the finest anti-submarine patrol bomb ...
long-range maritime reconnaissance and
transport aircraft, and the
Canadair F-86
The Canadair Sabre is a jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) until r ...
''Sabre''. Between 1950 and 1958, 1,815 Sabres were built. Canadair also produced 200
CF-104 Starfighter supersonic fighter aircraft, a license-built version of the
Lockheed F-104.
In 1976, General Dynamics sold Canadair to the Canadian Government for $38 million.
Canadair was acquired by
Bombardier Inc.
Bombardier Inc. () is a Canadian business jet manufacturer. It was also formerly a manufacturer of commercial jets, public transport vehicles, trains, and recreational vehicles, with the last being spun-off as Bombardier Recreational Pro ...
in 1986.
General Dynamics emerges
Aircraft production became increasingly important at Canadair, and Hopkins argued that the name "Electric Boat" was no longer appropriate—so Electric Boat was reorganized as General Dynamics on 24 April 1952.
General Dynamics purchased
Convair from the Atlas Group in March 1953.
The sale was approved by government oversight with the provision that GD would continue to operate out of
Air Force Plant 4
Air Force Plant 4 is a government-owned, contractor-operated aerospace facility in Fort Worth, Texas, currently owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. It is home of the F-16 and F-35 fighter aircraft. Militar ...
in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
. This factory had been set up in order to spread out strategic aircraft production and rented to Convair during the war to produce
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
bombers.
General Dynamics purchased Liquid Carbonic Corporation in September 1957 and controlled it as a wholly owned subsidiary until being forced by a Federal antitrust ruling to spin it off to shareholders in January 1969. Liquid Carbonic was then bought that same month by the Houston Natural Gas Company.
Convair worked as an independent division under the General Dynamics umbrella. Over the next decade, the company introduced the
F-106 Delta Dart Interceptor
Interceptor may refer to:
Vehicles
* Interceptor aircraft (or simply "interceptor"), a type of point defense fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft
* Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, a police car
* ...
, the
B-58 Hustler, and the
Convair 880
The Convair 880 is an American narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics. It was designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller but faster, a niche that failed to create demand. When ...
and
990
Year 990 ( CMXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Al-Mansur, ''de facto'' ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (mode ...
airliner
An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
s. Convair also introduced the
Atlas missile
The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General Dyna ...
platform, the first operational
intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
.
Management churn
Hopkins fell seriously ill during 1957 and was eventually replaced by Frank Pace later that year.
Meanwhile, John Naish succeeded Joseph McNarney as president of Convair. Chicago industrialist
Henry Crown
Henry Crown (; June 13, 1896 – August 14, 1990) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Among other things, he founded the Material Service Corporation, which merged with General Dynamics in 1959. At the time of his death, he was a bi ...
became the company's largest shareholder and merged his
Material Service Corporation with GD in 1959.
GD subsequently reorganized into Eastern Group in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and Western Group in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, with the latter taking over all of the aerospace activities and dropping the Convair brand name from its aircraft in the process.
Frank Pace retired under pressure in 1962 and Roger Lewis, former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force and
Pan American Airways CEO, was brought in as CEO. The company recovered, then fell back into the same struggles. In 1970, the board brought in
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...
president
Dave Lewis (no relation) as chairman and CEO, who served until retiring in 1985.
Aviation powerhouse
During the early 1960s the company bid on the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
's
Tactical Fighter, Experimental (TFX) project for a new low-level "penetrator".
Robert McNamara, newly installed as the
Secretary of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
, forced a merger of the TFX with
U.S. Navy plans for a new long-range "fleet defender" aircraft. In order to bid on a naval version successfully, GD partnered with
Grumman, which would build a customized version for
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
duties. After four rounds of bids and changes, the GD/Grumman team finally won the contract over a
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
submission.
The
F-111 that resulted first flew in December 1964. The F-111B flew in May 1965, but the navy said that it was too heavy for use on aircraft carriers. With an unacceptable navy version, estimates for 2,400 F-111s, including exports, were sharply reduced, but GD still managed to make a $300-million profit on the project.
Grumman went on to use many of the innovations of the F-111 in the highly successful
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...
,
an aircraft designed solely as a carrier-borne fighter.
Reorganization
In May 1965, GD reorganized into 12 operating divisions based on product lines. The board decided to build all future planes in Fort Worth, ending plane production at Convair's original plant in San Diego but continuing with space and missile development there. In October 1970, Roger Lewis left and David S. Lewis from
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...
was named CEO. Lewis required that the company headquarters move to
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
, which occurred in February 1971.
F-16 success
In 1972, GD bid on the USAF's
Lightweight Fighter (LWF) project. GD and
Northrop were awarded prototype contracts. GD's F-111 program was winding down, and the company desperately needed a new aircraft contract. It organized its own version of
Lockheed's famed "
Skunk Works
Skunk Works is an official pseudonym for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. It is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, beginning with the Lockheed P-38 Lightn ...
", the Advanced Concepts Laboratory, and responded with a new aircraft design incorporating advanced technologies.
GD's
YF-16 first flew in January 1974 and proved to have slightly better performance than the
YF-17 in head-to-head testing. It entered production as the F-16 in January 1975 with an initial order of 650 and a total order of 1,388. The F-16 also won contracts worldwide, beating the F-17 in foreign competition as well. GD built an aircraft production factory in Fort Worth, Texas. F-16 orders eventually totaled more than 4,600, making it the company's largest and most successful program, and one of the most successful western military projects since World War II.
Land Systems and Marine Systems focus
In 1976, General Dynamics sold the struggling Canadair back to the Canadian government for $38 million. By 1984, General Dynamics had four divisions: Convair in San Diego, General Dynamics-Fort Worth, General Dynamics-Pomona, and General Dynamics-Electronics. In 1985 a further reorganization created the Space Systems Division from the Convair Space division. In 1985, GD also acquired
Cessna
Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...
. In 1986 the Pomona division (which mainly produced the Standard Missile and the Phalanx CIWS for the navy) was split up, creating the Valley Systems Division. Valley Systems produced the Stinger surface-to-air missile and the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM). Both units were recombined into one entity in 1992.
Henry Crown, still GD's largest shareholder, died on 15 August 1990. Following this, the company started to rapidly divest its under-performing divisions under CEO
William Anders. Cessna was re-sold to
Textron
Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...
in January 1992, the San Diego and Pomona missile production units to
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
-
Hughes Aerospace
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other prod ...
in May 1992, the Fort Worth aircraft production to
Lockheed in March 1993 (a nearby electronics production facility was separately sold to Israeli-based
Elbit Systems
Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based international defense electronics company engaged in a wide range of programs throughout the world. The company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace, land ...
, marking that company's entry into the US market), and its Space Systems Division to
Martin Marietta
The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin.
History
Martin Mari ...
in 1994. The remaining Convair Aircraft Structure unit was sold to McDonnell Douglas in 1994. The remains of the Convair Division were simply closed in 1996. GD's exit from the aviation world was short-lived, and in 1999 the company acquired
Gulfstream Aerospace. The Pomona operation was closed shortly after its sale to Hughes Aircraft.
In 1995, General Dynamics purchased the privately held
Bath Iron Works shipyard in
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,766 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its ...
, for $300 million, diversifying its shipbuilding portfolio to include U.S. Navy surface ships such as
guided-missile destroyers. In 1998, the company acquired NASSCO, formerly
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is an American shipbuilding company with three shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk and Mayport (Jacksonville), Mayport. It is a division of General Dy ...
, for $415 million. The San Diego shipyard produces U.S. Navy auxiliary and support ships as well as commercial ships that are eligible to be U.S.-flagged under the
Jones Act.
Having divested itself of its aviation holdings, GD concentrated on land and sea products. GD purchased
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
's defense divisions in 1982, renaming them General Dynamics Land Systems. In 2003, it purchased the defense divisions of
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
as well. It is now a major supplier of armored vehicles of all types, including the
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
,
LAV 25,
Stryker, and a wide variety of vehicles based on these chassis.
Force Protection, Inc. was acquired by General Dynamics Land Systems in November 2011 for $350 million.
General Dynamics UK
In 1997, General Dynamics acquired Computing Devices Ltd based in
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
which had developed avionics and mission systems for the
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (inter ...
,
British Aerospace Harrier II and
Hawker Siddeley Nimrod. In 2001, Computing Devices Canada (CDC) was awarded a contract from the UK
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
to supply tactical communication systems for their
Bowman program. The work for this was carried out at a newly established UK headquarters in
Oakdale,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and the company was renamed General Dynamics UK Limited. Today, it comprises two business units: ''General Dynamics Land Systems - UK'' and ''General Dynamics Mission Systems - UK'' and it remains one of the UK's leading defense companies, operating out of a total of eight sites across the United Kingdom. It is currently responsible for delivering the
General Dynamics Ajax
The Ajax, formerly known as the Scout SV (Specialist Vehicle), is a group of armoured fighting vehicles being developed by General Dynamics UK for the British Army.
The Ajax is a development of the ASCOD armoured fighting vehicles used by the ...
family of armored vehicles, the
Foxhound light protected patrol vehicle and the
Morpheus communications system to the UK Ministry of Defence.
Recent history
![Gulfstream G650 departs Bristol 23rdAug2014 arp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Gulfstream_G650_departs_Bristol_23rdAug2014_arp.jpg)
In 2004, General Dynamics bid for the UK company
Alvis plc
Alvis PLC was created when United Scientific Holdings plc acquired the Alvis division of the nationalised vehicle manufacturer British Leyland in 1981. United Scientific maintained its own name until 1992 when the group was renamed Alvis plc ...
, the leading British manufacturer of armored vehicles. In March the board of Alvis Vickers voted in favor of the £309m takeover. However at the last minute
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
offered £355m for the company. This deal was finalized in June 2004.
On August 19, 2008, GD agreed to pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the US Government claiming that a GD unit fraudulently billed the government for defectively manufactured parts used in US military aircraft and submarines. The US alleged that GD defectively manufactured or failed to test parts used in US military aircraft from September 2001 to August 2003, such as for the
C-141 Starlifter transport plane. The GD unit involved, based in
Glen Cove, New York
Glen Cove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island. At the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 28,365 as of th ...
, closed in 2004.
In 2014, the government of Canada announced it had selected the General Dynamics Land Systems subsidiary in
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
, to produce
Light Armoured Vehicles for
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
as part of a $10 billion deal with the
Canadian Commercial Corporation. The sale has been criticized by political opponents because of the
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Saudi may refer to:
* Saudi Arabia
* Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia
* Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia
* House of Saud
The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is c ...
.
In December 2018, after Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
suggested Canada might scrap the deal, the company warned that doing so could lead to "billions of dollars in liability" and risk the loss of thousands of jobs. Trudeau has since said that while he is critical of Saudi conduct, he cannot simply scrap the deal because "Canada as a country of the rule of law needs to respect its contracts." On 30 January 2019, CEO
Phebe Novakovic
Phebe Novakovic is an American businesswoman and former intelligence officer. She serves as the Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of General Dynamics. As of 2018, she is listed as the world's 25th most powerful woman in business by ''Forbes' ...
warned investors that the matter had "significantly impacted" the company's cash flow because Saudi Arabia was nearly $2 billion in arrears on its payments.
In 2018, General Dynamics acquired information technology services giant
CSRA for $9.7 billion, and merged it with GDIT.
General Dynamics has been accused by groups such as
Code Pink and
Green America
Green America (known as Co-op America until January 1, 2009) is a nonprofit membership organization based in the United States that promotes environmentally aware, ethical consumerism. Founded in 1982, by Paul Freundlich, Green America states that ...
of "making money from human suffering by profiting off the migrant children held at U.S. detention camps" due to its IT services contracts with the
Department of Health and Human Services'
Office of Refugee Resettlement
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is a program of the Administration for Children and Families, an office within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, created with the passing of the United States Refugee Act of 1980 ( ...
, the government agency that operates shelters for unaccompanied children to include those separated from their families as part of the
Trump administration family separation policy. The company says it has no role in constructing or operating detention centers, and that its contracts to provide training and technical services began in 2000 and have spanned across four presidential administrations.
It was announced in September 2018 that the U.S. Navy awarded contracts for 10 new Arleigh Burke-class destroyers from General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and Huntington Ingalls Industries.
Former
U.S. Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...
General
Jim Mattis
James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Persia ...
re-joined the company's
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
in August 2019. He had previously served on the board, but resigned and divested before becoming Secretary of Defense.
In September 2020, General Dynamics announced a strategic counter-drone partnership, providing General Dynamics' global network with access to
Dedrone's complete drone detection and defeat technology.
In December 2020, the board of directors for General Dynamics announced a regular quarterly dividend of $1.10, payable on February 5, 2021.
On December 26, 2020, General Dynamics confirmed that their business division General Dynamics Land Systems was awarded a $4.6 billion contract by the U.S. Army for M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams main battle tanks.
Timeline
Electric Boat
An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators.
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...
was established in 1899.
20th-century acquisitions
* 1946 –
Canadair
Canadair Ltd. was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. In 1986, its assets were acquired by Bombardier Aerospace, the aviation division of Canadian transport conglomerate Bombardier Inc.
Canadair's origins lie in the establishm ...
purchased from the Canadian government.
* 1952 –
Electric Boat
An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators.
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...
became General Dynamics.
* 1953 –
Convair merged with General Dynamics.
* 1955 – Acquired
Stromberg-Carlson
Stromberg-Carlson was a telecommunications equipment and electronics manufacturing company in the United States. It was formed in 1894 as a partnership by Swedish immigrants Alfred Stromberg (1861 Varnhem, Sweden - 1913 Chicago) and Androv Ca ...
.
* 1957 - Purchased Liquid Carbonic Corporation of Chicago, Illinois, on September 30.
* 1959 –
Henry Crown
Henry Crown (; June 13, 1896 – August 14, 1990) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Among other things, he founded the Material Service Corporation, which merged with General Dynamics in 1959. At the time of his death, he was a bi ...
acquires company and becomes majority shareholder.
* 1962–1963 – Convair-produced
Mercury-Atlas
Mercury-Atlas was a subprogram of Project Mercury that included most of the flights and tests using the Atlas LV-3B
The Atlas LV-3B, Atlas D Mercury Launch Vehicle or Mercury-Atlas Launch Vehicle, was a human-rated expendable launch system u ...
rockets launch four manned
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
missions into low Earth orbit, including
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...
.
* 1971–1985
David S. Lewis, Jr.
David Sloan Lewis, Jr. (July 6, 1917 – December 15, 2003) was an aeronautical engineer who led aerospace and defense giant General Dynamics for 14 years.
Early life
David Lewis was born in 1917, in North Augusta, South Carolina. As a child, ...
, was chairman and chief executive officer. During his tenure, General Dynamics' revenues and earnings quadrupled.
* 1982 – Formed General Dynamics Land Systems after the acquisition of
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
's combat systems.
* 1995 – Acquired
Bath Iron Works from
Prudential Insurance
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both Investor#Retail_investor, retail and i ...
.
* 1996 – Acquired
Teledyne Vehicle Systems
General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Un ...
.
* 1997 – Acquired Lockheed Martin Defense Systems and Lockheed Martin Armament Systems.
* 1997 – Acquired Advanced Technology Systems, formerly an operating unit of
Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the divestiture of the former AT&T Technologies business u ...
.
* 1997 – Acquired Computing Devices International, formerly a division of
Ceridian Corporation
Ceridian HCM is an American provider of human resources software and services with employees in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and Mauritius. It is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.
History
Ceridian is a descendan ...
.
* 1998 – Acquired
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is an American shipbuilding company with three shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk and Mayport (Jacksonville), Mayport. It is a division of General Dy ...
.
* 1999 – Acquired
Gulfstream Aerospace from
Forstmann Little
Forstmann, Little & Company was a private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts (LBOs). At its peak in the late 1990s, Forstmann Little was among the largest private equity firms globally. Ultimately, the firm would suffer from the burs ...
.
* 1999 – Acquired
GTE Government Systems
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...
, Communication Systems, Electronic Systems and Worldwide Telecommunication Systems Divisions.
* 2000 – Acquired Saco Defense from New Colt Holding Corp. which owned it since 1998.
21st-century acquisitions
* 2001 – Acquired PrimeX Technologies Inc.
* 2001 – Acquired
Galaxy Aerospace Company
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is an American aircraft company and a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics.
Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and services business jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,000 ...
from
Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI).
* 2001 – Acquired Spain's
Santa Bárbara Sistemas
Santa Bárbara Sistemas is a Spanish defense contractor based in Madrid, integrated under the ''European Land Systems'' of General Dynamics. It is one of the primary suppliers of the Military of Spain and is responsible for the assembly of heavy ve ...
, one of the world's oldest arms manufacturers.
* 2002 – Acquired German company EWK Eisenwerke Kaiserslautern, and changed its name to General Dynamics European Land Systems-Germany.
* 2003 – Acquired
GM Defense from
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
.
* 2003 – Acquired the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n heavy vehicle company Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug (SSF) from an Austrian investor group and formed the basis of General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS).
* 2003 – Acquired
Veridian and
Digital Systems Resources.
* 2003 – Acquired Datron's Intercontinental Manufacturing Company (IMCO) Unit.
* 2004 – Acquired
Spectrum Astro
Spectrum Astro was a privately held American corporation that designed, manufactured, and sold satellites. Spectrum Astro's, at the time, unique satellite production method was to design and manufacture space satellites, in their entirety, at a ...
.
* 2005 – Acquired
MAYA Viz Ltd
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...
, the primary developer of the US Army's
Command Post of the Future The United States Army's Command Post of the Future (CPOF) is a C2 software system that allows commanders to maintain topsight over the battlefield; collaborate with superiors, peers and subordinates over live data; and communicate their intent.
...
software into
General Dynamics C4 Systems
General Dynamics Mission Systems is a business unit of American defense and aerospace company General Dynamics. General Dynamics Mission Systems integrates secure communication and information systems and technology. General Dynamics Mission Syst ...
.
* 2005 – Acquired
Tadpole Computer
Tadpole Computer was a manufacturer of rugged, military specification, UNIX workstations, thin client laptops and lightweight servers.
History
Tadpole was founded in 1994 and originally based in Cambridge, England, then for a time in Cupertino, C ...
.
* 2005 – Acquired Itronix.
* 2006 – Acquired
FC Business Systems.
* 2006 – Acquired
Anteon International
''Anteon'' is the largest genus in the subfamily Anteoninae of the family Dryinidae, it occurs globally and there is a current total of 464 species described. The species in the genus ''Anteon'' are parasitoids of leafhoppers from the family Cic ...
.
* 2007 – Acquired
Mediaware International.
*2008 – Acquired ViPS, Inc.
*2008 – Acquired
Jet Aviation
Jet Aviation is a Basel-based provider of business aviation services. Founded in Switzerland in 1967, it provides aircraft sales, Aircraft maintenance, maintenance, and Air charter, charters using its fleet of more than 200 aircraft. Since 2008, J ...
.
* 2009 – Acquired
Axletech International.
* 2010 – Acquired Kylmar Ltd.
* 2011 – Acquired Vangent, Inc. from The Veritas Capital Fund III, LP.
* 2011 – Acquired Metro Machine Imperial Docks Inc.
* 2011 – Acquired
Force Protection Inc
Force Protection, Inc. was a manufacturer of ballistic- and blast-protected vehicles from the United States which have been used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and other hot spots around the world. The company was acquired by General Dynamics in 201 ...
.
* 2012 – Acquired
Open Kernel Labs
Open Kernel Labs (OK Labs) is a privately owned company that develops microkernel-based hypervisors and operating systems for embedded systems. The company was founded in 2006 by Steve Subar and Gernot Heiser as a spinout from NICTA. It was headq ...
.
* 2012 – Acquired Applied Physical Sciences.
* 2016 - Acquired
Bluefin Robotics
Bluefin Robotics is an American robotics company, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, which specialises in the design and manufacture of military and civilian autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and related technology. The company was foun ...
into
General Dynamics Mission Systems.
* 2018 – Acquired
CSRA Inc. for about $6.8 billion.
Divestitures
* 1967 –
General Atomics was sold to
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
.
* 1969 - Forced by Federal order to divest itself of Liquid Carbonic Corporation in January; Liquid Carbonic was then purchased by Houston Natural Gas Co.
* 1976 – Canadair sold back to the Canadian government.
* 1981 – Following
expropriation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
legislation passed by the government of the
Province of Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
, General Dynamics' Canadian subsidiary sold its 54.6% controlling interest in
Asbestos Corporation Limited
Asbestos Corporation Limited (ACL) is a Canadian corporation originally established to mine asbestos. ACL mainly open pit mined chrysotile asbestos in Thetford Mines, Quebec. It is no longer involved in asbestos mining, but as a subsidiary of ...
to the Quebec
government-owned corporation
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
, ''Société nationale de l'amiante'' (SNA).
* 1991 – Data Systems Division sold to
Computer Sciences Corporation
Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) was an American multinational corporation that provided information technology (IT) services and professional services. On April 3, 2017, it merged with the Enterprise Services line of business of HP Ente ...
.
[General Dynamics Sells a Third San Diego Unit](_blank)
Los Angeles Times, October 06, 1992.
* 1992 – Tactical Missiles Division to
Hughes Aircraft Company
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other produ ...
* 1992 –
Cessna
Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...
was sold to
Textron
Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...
.
* 1992 – Electronics Division sold to
Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...
of Washington, D.C. and renamed GDE Systems.
* 1993 – Fort Worth Division, a producer of fixed-wing military aircraft, was sold to
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but ot ...
.
* 1993 – Space Systems Division was sold to
Martin Marietta
The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin.
History
Martin Mari ...
.
* 1994 – Convair's
aerostructure
An aerostructure is a component of an aircraft's airframe. This may include all or part of the fuselage, wings, or flight control surfaces. Companies that specialize in constructing these components are referred to as "aerostructures manufacturer ...
s unit's manufacturing work in San Diego was transferred to
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produ ...
.
* 2006 – Material Service to
Hanson
Hanson or Hansson may refer to:
People
* Hanson (surname)
* Hansson (surname)
* Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler
Musical groups
* Hanson (band), an American pop rock band
* Hanson (UK band), an English rock ba ...
.
* 2007 – Freeman United Coal Mining Co. sold to Springfield Coal Co. for an undisclosed amount.
* 2010 – Spacecraft development and manufacturing (a business group within the
Advanced Information Systems division) to
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...
.
* 2014 – Advanced Systems (another business line within Advanced Information Systems) to
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates
Company outline
Business units
As of 2021, General Dynamics consists of ten separate businesses organised as four operating segments:
; Aerospace
*
Gulfstream The Gulf Stream is a warm Atlantic Ocean current.
Gulf Stream or Gulfstream may also refer to: Places
*Gulf Stream, Florida, a town in the United States
Art, entertainment, and media
*''Gulf Stream Magazine'', a literary magazine at Florida Intern ...
*
Jet Aviation
Jet Aviation is a Basel-based provider of business aviation services. Founded in Switzerland in 1967, it provides aircraft sales, Aircraft maintenance, maintenance, and Air charter, charters using its fleet of more than 200 aircraft. Since 2008, J ...
; Marine Systems
*
Electric Boat
An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators.
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...
*
Bath Iron Works
*
NASSCO
; Combat Systems
*
General Dynamics Land Systems
General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) is a manufacturer of military vehicles such as tanks and lighter armored fighting vehicles.
History
In February 1982 Chrysler announced the sale of Chrysler Defense, its profitable defense subsidiary, to Gen ...
*
General Dynamics European Land Systems
* General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems
;Technologies
* GDIT
*
General Dynamics Mission Systems
Aircraft systems
*
General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark
**
General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B
**
General Dynamics F-111C
The General Dynamics F-111C (nicknamed "Pig") is a variant of the F-111 Aardvark medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft, developed by General Dynamics to meet Australian requirements. The design was based on the F-111A model but ...
**
General Dynamics F-111K
The General Dynamics F-111K was a planned variant of the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft by General Dynamics, to meet a requirement for such an aircraft for the Royal Air Force.
The project ...
**
General Dynamics–Grumman EF-111A Raven
*
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...
**
General Dynamics F-16 VISTA
The General Dynamics X-62 VISTA ("Variable Stability In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft") is an experimental aircraft, derived from the F-16D Fighting Falcon, which was modified as a joint venture between General Dynamics and Calspan for use by t ...
**
General Dynamics F-16XL
**
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon variants
*
Martin/General Dynamics RB-57F Canberra
The Martin/General Dynamics RB-57F Canberra is a specialized strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed in the 1960s for the United States Air Force by General Dynamics from the Martin B-57 Canberra tactical bomber, which itself was a license- ...
Marine systems
*
American Overseas Marine Corporation
*
Bath Iron Works
*
Electric Boat
An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators.
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail pow ...
*
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is an American shipbuilding company with three shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk and Mayport (Jacksonville), Mayport. It is a division of General Dy ...
*
Quincy Shipbuilding Division (closed 1986)
Missile systems
*
RIM-24 Tartar
The General Dynamics RIM-24 Tartar was a medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. The Tartar was the third of the so-called "3 T's", the three primary ...
*
FIM-43 Redeye
The General Dynamics FIM-43 Redeye is a man-portable surface-to-air missile system. It uses passive infrared homing to track its target. Production began in 1962 andin anticipation of the Redeye II, which later became the FIM-92 Stingerended in t ...
*
MIM-46 Mauler
*
RIM-66 Standard
The RIM-66 Standard MR (SM-1MR/SM-2MR) is a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM), with a secondary role as an anti-ship missile, originally developed for the United States Navy (USN). A member of the Standard Missile family of weapons, the ...
*
AGM-78 Standard ARM
*
FIM-92 Stinger
*
AIM-97 Seekbat
The AIM-97 Seekbat or XAIM-97A Seek Bat was a long-range air-to-air missile developed by the United States. It was intended to counter the perceived capabilities of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 and proposed to arm both the F-15 Eagle and F-4 Phant ...
*
RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile
*
AGM-129 ACM
*
Tomahawk (missile)
The Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations.
Under contract fr ...
*
BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile
The Ground Launched Cruise Missile, or GLCM, (officially designated BGM-109G Gryphon) was a ground-launched cruise missile developed by the United States Air Force in the last decade of the Cold War and disarmed under the INF Treaty.
Overview ...
*
SM-65 Atlas (CGM/HGM-16)
Combat systems
![GAU-17 machine gun fired from UH-1N Huey in 2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/GAU-17_machine_gun_fired_from_UH-1N_Huey_in_2006.jpg)
*Former General Dynamics Pomona Division
**
Phalanx CIWS
*General Dynamics Land Systems
**General Dynamics Robotic Systems
***Autonomous Navigation System
***Mobile Detection and Assessment Response System
***Unmanned Surface Vehicle
**
Expeditionary tank
**
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
series main battle tank
**
Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle
The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) (formerly known as the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV)) was an amphibious assault vehicle developed by General Dynamics during the 1990s and 2000s for use by the U.S. Marine Corps. It would ...
**
Heavy Assault Bridge program
**
LAV series
**
Stryker Armored Combat Vehicle
**
XM2001 Crusader
The XM2001 Crusader was to be the United States Army's next-generation self-propelled howitzer (SPH), designed to improve the survivability, lethality, mobility, and effectiveness of the artillery as well as the overall force. It was initially s ...
self-propelled howitzer
*General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products
**
GAU-17 (Minigun)
**
GAU-19
The GAU-19/A (GECAL 50) is an electrically driven, three-barrel rotary heavy machine gun that fires the .50 BMG (12.7×99mm) cartridge.
Technical specifications
The GAU-19/A is designed to accept standard NATO .50 caliber M9-linked ammunition. ...
*General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems
*
General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS)
**
GDELS-Steyr
***
ASCOD AFV
The ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) armoured fighting vehicle family is the product of a cooperation agreement between Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG and Spanish General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas ( both companies are now ...
(Ulan)
***
Pandur II
The Pandur II is an improved modular all-wheel-drive version of the Pandur 6x6 APC wheeled armoured vehicle. It was developed as a private venture by the Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge. Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge i ...
**
GDELS-Mowag
***
Mowag Duro
The DURO (''Durable Robust'') is a series of wheeled, multi-purpose military transport vehicles produced by General Dynamics European Land Systems/MOWAG in both four and six wheel drive. It was initially developed for Switzerland by Bucher-G ...
***
Mowag Eagle
***
Mowag Piranha
**
GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas
***
Leopard 2E
The Leopardo 2E or Leopard 2A6E (''E'' stands for ''España'', Spanish for Spain) is a variant of the German Leopard 2 main battle tank (specifically the Leopard 2A6 variant), tailored to the requirements of the Spanish army, which acquired it a ...
***
ASCOD AFV
The ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) armoured fighting vehicle family is the product of a cooperation agreement between Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG and Spanish General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas ( both companies are now ...
(Pizarro)
*General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited
**
Scout SV
The Ajax, formerly known as the Scout SV (Specialist Vehicle), is a group of armoured fighting vehicles being developed by General Dynamics UK for the British Army.
The Ajax is a development of the ASCOD armoured fighting vehicles used by the ...
Information Systems and Technology
Information Systems and Technology represent 34% of the company's revenue as of 2014.
Launch vehicles
*
Atlas (rocket family)
Atlas is a family of US missiles and space launch vehicles that originated with the SM-65 Atlas. The Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program was initiated in the late 1950s under the Convair Division of General Dynamics. Atlas was ...
**
Atlas-Centaur
**
Atlas E/F
**
Atlas G
The Atlas G, also known as Atlas G Centaur-D1AR was an American expendable launch system derived from the Atlas-Centaur. It was a member of the Atlas family of rockets, and was used to launch seven communication satellites during the mid to late ...
**
Atlas H
**
Atlas SLV-3
**
Atlas-Agena
*
NEXUS (rocket)
The NEXUS reusable rocket was a concept design created in the 1960s by a group at General Dynamics led by Krafft Arnold Ehricke. It was intended as the next leap beyond the Saturn V, carrying up to eight times more payload. Several versions were ...
space launch vehicle concept (never built)
Corporate governance
General Dynamics current chairman and chief executive officer is
Phebe N. Novakovic.
As of December 2022.
Financials
General Dynamics has $30.9 billion in sales as of 2017 primarily military, but also civilian with its Gulfstream Aerospace unit and conventional shipbuilding and repair with its National Steel and Shipbuilding subsidiary.
For the fiscal year 2021, General Dynamics reported net income of US$3.257 billion, with an annual revenue of US$38.469 billion, an increase of 1.43% over the previous fiscal cycle. General Dynamics's shares traded at over $187 per share in 2021, and its market capitalization was valued at US$68.12 billion in March 2022.
As of March 2022.
Carbon emissions
General Dynamics reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for 2021 at 696,118 mt (-8.7% year over year) and aims to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2034. The company is on track to become carbon neutral before 2060.
Company demographics
In 2021, General Dynamics's U.S. workforce was 21% veterans, 23% female, and 27% people of color. The US Department of Labor awarded the company the 2021 HIRE Vets Gold Award.
The company has 26 Employee Resource Groups serving 10 employee segments.
Approximately 20% of the company's employees are represented by labor unions such as
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), The International Union, and
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...
(UAW).
Independent research published by American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), U.S. Department of Labor, Military Times, U.S. Veterans Magazine, Professional Women's Magazine, Forbes, and Fortune Magazine selected General Dynamics as a top employer.
General Dynamics' community contributions in 2021 were 70% in Education & Social Services, 18% in Arts & Culture, and 12% in Service Member Support.
See also
*
Top 100 Contractors of the U.S. federal government
The Top 100 Contractors Report is a list developed annually by the U.S. General Services Administration as part of its tracking of U.S. federal government procurement, of the "Top 100" contractors in the United States.
In fiscal year 2005, the f ...
*
List of companies headquartered in Northern Virginia
*
List of military aircraft of the United States
Lists of military aircraft of the United States cover current and former aircraft of the United States Armed Forces.
By designation
* List of United States Air Force aircraft designations (1919–1962)
* List of United States Navy aircraft desig ...
*
List of United States defense contractors
*
List of current ships of the United States Navy
The United States Navy has over ships in both active service and the reserve fleet, with approximately more in either the planning and ordering stages or under construction, according to the Naval Vessel Register and published reports. This ...
*
List of currently active United States military land vehicles
The following is a list of active United States military land vehicles grouped by type of land vehicle.
Main battle tank
* M1 Abrams – 5,000 active use. Approx. 3,000 stored.
** M1A1 AIM.V2/SA
** M1A2B and M1A2C
Infantry fighting vehicles
* B ...
*
List of shipbuilders and shipyards
References
Citations
Sources
Patents owned by General Dynamics Corporation US Patent & Trademark Office. URL accessed on 5 December 2005.
* from a
GeoCities-hosted website
* Compton-Hall, Richard. ''The Submarine Pioneers''. Sutton Publishing, 1999.
* Franklin, Roger. ''The Defender: The Story of General Dynamics''. Harper & Row, 1986.
* General Dynamics. ''Dynamic America''. General Dynamics/Doubleday Publishing Company, 1960.
* Goodwin, Jacob. ''Brotherhood of Arms: General Dynamics and the Business of Defending America''. Random House, 1985.
* Pederson, Jay P. (Ed.). ''International Directory of Company Histories'', Volume 40. St. James Press, March 2001. . (General Dynamics section, pp. 204–210). See also ''International Directory of Company Histories'', Volume 86. St. James Press, July 2007. (General Dynamics/Electric Boat Corporation section, pp. 136–139).
* Morris, Richard Knowles. ''John P. Holland 1841–1914, Inventor of the Modern Submarine''. The University of South Carolina Press, 1998. (Book originally copyrighted and published by the United States Naval Institute Press, 1966.)
* Morris, Richard Knowles. ''Who Built Those Subs?''. United States Naval Institute Press, October 1998. (125th Anniversary issue)
* Rodengen, Jeffrey. ''The Legend of Electric Boat, Serving The Silent Service''. Write Stuff Syndicate, 1994. Account revised in 2007.
External links
Official General Dynamics web siteGeneral Dynamics European Land Systems (Gdels.com) site
{{Authority control
Defense companies of the United States
Conglomerate companies of the United States
Aerospace companies of the United States
Aircraft manufacturers of the United States
Information technology companies of the United States
Shipbuilding companies of the United States
Multinational companies headquartered in the United States
Manufacturing companies based in Virginia
Companies based in Reston, Virginia
American companies established in 1952
Conglomerate companies established in 1952
Electronics companies established in 1952
Manufacturing companies established in 1952
Technology companies established in 1952
1952 establishments in Virginia
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Science and technology in Virginia