Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 01, 2012
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Apr. 01, 2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
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	360,606,640