Other - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) Share data in Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		17 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Mar. 29, 2015	Mar. 30, 2014	Mar. 29, 2015	Feb. 20, 2015	Nov. 30, 2013 Employee	Jan. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Operating profit	$ 1,356,000,000	$ 1,432,000,000
Net earnings	878,000,000	933,000,000
Diluted earnings per share	$ 2.74	$ 2.87
Effective income tax rates	30.60%	30.80%
Number of shares repurchased under share repurchase program	3.0
Value of stock repurchased under share repurchase program	604,000,000	1,106,000,000
Remaining authorized repurchase amount under share repurchase program	3,100,000,000		3,100,000,000
Common stock par value, per share	$ 1		$ 1				$ 1
Dividends declared	477,000,000	428,000,000
Dividends declared, per share (in USD)	$ 1.50	$ 1.33
Contracts Accounted for under Percentage of Completion
Operating profit	490,000,000	525,000,000
Net earnings	320,000,000	340,000,000
Diluted earnings per share	$ 1.00	$ 1.05
November 2013 Severance Actions
Severance payments	16,000,000		123,000,000
Incremental expected costs as a result of the November 2013 restructuring plan
Accelerated and incremental costs incurred	136,000,000		136,000,000
Notes Issued In Twenty Fifteen
Amount of issued debt				2,250,000,000
Two Point Nine Zero Percent Notes Due Twenty Twenty Five
Amount of issued debt				750,000,000
Long-term debt maturity year				2025
Interest Rate				2.90%
Three Point Six Zero Percent Notes Due Twenty Thirty Five
Amount of issued debt				500,000,000
Long-term debt maturity year				2035
Interest Rate				3.60%
Three Point Eight Zero Percent Notes Due Twenty Forty Five
Amount of issued debt				1,000,000,000
Long-term debt maturity year				2045
Interest Rate				3.80%
Information Systems & Global Solutions, Mission Systems & Training, and Space Systems
Number of employees terminated					4,000
Information Systems & Global Solutions | Incremental expected costs as a result of the November 2013 restructuring plan
Expected total accelerated and incremental costs	15,000,000		15,000,000
Mission Systems and Training | Incremental expected costs as a result of the November 2013 restructuring plan
Expected total accelerated and incremental costs	50,000,000		50,000,000
Space Systems | Incremental expected costs as a result of the November 2013 restructuring plan
Expected total accelerated and incremental costs	$ 190,000,000		$ 190,000,000
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Number of stock units, granted, in shares						0.6
Average grant date fair value per unit						$ 192.28
Number of years over which equity awards vest						3 years