Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
		Sep. 27, 2015	Sep. 28, 2014	Sep. 27, 2015	Sep. 28, 2014
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	[1]	$ 555.4	$ 601.1	$ 1,698.1	$ 1,771.7
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales		345.8	375.4	1,049.4	1,095.5
Selling, general and administrative expenses		140.1	151.4	443.0	461.6
Total costs and expenses		485.9	526.8	1,492.4	1,557.1
Operating income		69.5	74.3	205.7	214.6
Interest expense, net		(6.0)	(4.6)	(17.9)	(13.9)
Other income (expense), net		(2.1)	(1.8)	2.1	7.0
Income before income taxes		61.4	67.9	189.9	207.7
Provision for income taxes		13.1	13.0	49.9	51.0
Net income		48.3	54.9	140.0	156.7
Noncontrolling interest			0.7	0.3	0.8
Net income attributable to Teledyne		$ 48.3	$ 55.6	$ 140.3	$ 157.5
Basic earnings per common share (in USD per share)		$ 1.37	$ 1.49	$ 3.96	$ 4.21
Weighted average common shares outstanding (in shares)		35.3	37.2	35.4	37.4
Diluted earnings per common share (in USD per share)		$ 1.34	$ 1.47	$ 3.88	$ 4.13
Weighted average diluted common shares outstanding (in shares)		36.1	37.8	36.2	38.1

[1] (a)Net sales excludes inter-segment sales of $4.8 million and $14.7 million for the third quarter and nine months ended September 27, 2015, respectively, and $4.9 million and $14.8 million for the third quarter and nine months ended September 28, 2014, respectively.