Business Acquisitions (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			0 Months Ended				0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 27, 2014	Sep. 27, 2014	Sep. 27, 2014 Pro Forma	Sep. 28, 2013 Pro Forma	Sep. 27, 2014 Pro Forma	Sep. 28, 2013 Pro Forma	Sep. 27, 2014 2014 Acquisitions	Sep. 27, 2014 2014 Acquisitions	Mar. 14, 2014 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition	Mar. 29, 2014 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition	Sep. 27, 2014 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition Textron Aviation	Sep. 27, 2014 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition Textron Aviation	Jan. 03, 2015 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition Textron Aviation Forecast	Mar. 14, 2014 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition Trade names	Mar. 14, 2014 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition Unpatented technology and customer relationships	Sep. 27, 2014 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition Unpatented technology and customer relationships Minimum	Sep. 27, 2014 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition Unpatented technology and customer relationships Maximum	Jan. 30, 2014 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition Senior notes	Jan. 24, 2014 2014 Beechcraft Acquisition Term loan	Sep. 27, 2014 Other 2014 Acquisitions Industrial and Textron Systems
Business Acquisitions
Aggregate cash payment									$ 1,500											$ 101
Amount of debt																		600	500
Debt instrument term																			5 years
Preliminary allocation of the purchase price
Accounts receivable									118
Inventories									770
Other current assets									175
Property, plant and equipment									258
Intangible assets									581					208	373
Goodwill									226
Other assets									171
Accounts payable									(143)
Accrued liabilities									(282)
Other liabilities									(396)
Total net assets acquired									1,478
Estimate lives of intangible assets															15 years
Amortization expense																17	31
Tax-deductible goodwill									260
Unrecognized Tax Benefits									95
Expected cost													35
Charges related to restructuring activities											3	28
Transaction costs										11
Revenues			3,430	3,308	10,145	9,907
Revenues							435	993
Income from continuing operations, net of income taxes			169	78	462	279
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations (in dollars per share)			$ 0.60	$ 0.28	$ 1.64	$ 0.98
Transaction and restructuring costs	$ 3	$ 39									$ 3	$ 39