General (Policies)	3 Months Ended
General (Policies)	Apr. 02, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (“Teledyne” or the “Company”) pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Certain information and disclosures normally included in notes to consolidated financial statements have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations, but resultant disclosures are in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) as they apply to interim reporting. The condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes in Teledyne’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2017 (“2016 Form 10-K”). In the opinion of Teledyne’s management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly, in all material respects, Teledyne’s consolidated financial position as of April 2, 2017 and the consolidated results of operations and consolidated comprehensive income and cash flows for the three months then ended. The results of operations and cash flows for the period ended April 2, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations or cash flows to be expected for any subsequent quarter or the full fiscal year. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements In January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2017-04, Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which eliminates the computation of the implied fair value of goodwill to measure a goodwill impairment charge. Instead, entities will record a goodwill impairment charge based on the excess of a reporting unit’s carrying amount over its fair value. The new standard, will be effective for the Company prospectively for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. We expect the adoption of this standard will reduce the complexity surrounding the evaluation of goodwill for impairment. The impact of this new standard for the Company will depend on the outcomes of future goodwill impairment tests. In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-07, "Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost." This ASU requires the service cost component of net benefit costs to be disaggregated from all other components and be reported in the same line item or items as other compensation costs. The other components of net benefit cost are required to be presented in the income statement separately from the service cost. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and for interim periods therein. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on the consolidated financial statements and footnote disclosures, however, Teledyne does not believe this ASU will have a material impact on its consolidated financial position, results of operation or cash flows. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which provides a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and will supersede most current revenue recognition guidance. The new standard, as subsequently amended, is effective for Teledyne for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The new standard can be adopted either retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. Under the new standard, an entity recognizes revenue when or as it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring a good or service to the customer, either at a point in time or over time. Under the new standard, Teledyne expects to recognize revenue over time on most of its contracts that are covered by contract accounting standards using cost inputs to measure progress toward completion of its performance obligations, which is similar to the percentage-of-completion (“POC”) cost-to-cost method currently used on certain of these contracts today. Therefore, adoption of the ASU will primarily impact our contracts where revenue is currently recognized using the POC units of delivery and milestone methods as we expect to recognize revenue for these contracts using the POC cost-to-cost method. These contracts represent approximately half of the revenue currently recognized under the POC method. Also, to a much lesser extent, we expect certain bill and ship contracts for custom products and products sold to the government will be recognized under the POC cost-to-cost method. Accordingly, the resulting impact being revenue will be recognized earlier in the performance period as we incur costs, as opposed to when units are delivered or milestones achieved. This change will also impact our backlog and balance sheet presentation with an expected decrease in inventories, an increase in accounts receivable (i.e., unbilled receivables) and a net increase to retained earnings to primarily reflect the impact of converting certain bill and ship contracts and contracts currently applying the units-of-delivery and milestone methods to the cost-to-cost method for recognizing revenue and profits. The percentage of Teledyne revenue recognized using the POC method was 30.5% in 2016, 31.2% in 2015, and 28.7% in 2014. The Company continues its evaluation of the expected impact of the adoption of this standard on its consolidated financial statements, related disclosures and the transition alternatives available, Teledyne will adopt the standard in the first quarter of fiscal year 2018. Furthermore, Teledyne expects to disclose the transition method and the effect of this standard on our consolidated financial statements in the second quarter of 2017.