Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Jan. 29, 2012	Jul. 03, 2011
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	GD
Entity Registrant Name	GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000040533
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		356,821,649
Entity Public Float			$ 26,079,926,210
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes