Note 15: Segment Financial Data (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	$ 12,424,000,000	$ 12,680,000,000
Operating profit	1,702,000,000	1,688,000,000
Operating Profit Margin	13.70%	13.30%
Otis [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	2,770,000,000	2,772,000,000
Operating profit	566,000,000	630,000,000
Operating Profit Margin	20.40%	22.70%
UTC Climate Controls and Security [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	4,112,000,000	4,393,000,000
Operating profit	544,000,000	471,000,000
Operating Profit Margin	13.20%	10.70%
Pratt and Whitney [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	3,052,000,000	2,873,000,000
Operating profit	389,000,000	428,000,000
Operating Profit Margin	12.70%	14.90%
Hamilton Sundstrand [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	1,236,000,000	1,138,000,000
Operating profit	198,000,000	172,000,000
Operating Profit Margin	16.00%	15.10%
Sikorsky [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	1,346,000,000	1,582,000,000
Operating profit	136,000,000	141,000,000
Operating Profit Margin	10.10%	8.90%
Total Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	12,516,000,000	12,758,000,000
Operating profit	1,833,000,000	1,842,000,000
Operating Profit Margin	14.60%	14.40%
Eliminations and other [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	(92,000,000)	(78,000,000)
Operating profit	(35,000,000)	(65,000,000)
General corporate expenses [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total net sales	0	0
Operating profit	$ (96,000,000)	$ (89,000,000)