Business Acquisitions (Unaudited)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Business Combination Disclosure [Text Block]

PENDING ACQUISITION OF ORBITAL ATK

On September 17, 2017, the company entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Orbital ATK, Inc. (Orbital ATK) for approximately $7.8 billion in cash, plus the assumption of approximately $1.4 billion in net debt (the “Orbital ATK Acquisition”).Under the terms of the merger agreement, Orbital ATK shareholders are to receive all-cash consideration of$134.50per share. We expect to fund the Orbital ATK Acquisition with the proceeds from our recently completed debt financing and cash on hand.See Notes 8 and 11 for further information on our Orbital ATK Acquisition financing. The transaction is currently expected to close in the first half of 2018 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and Orbital ATK shareholder approval. If the merger agreement is terminated under certain circumstances, Orbital ATK will be required to pay the company a termination fee of $275 million. Upon completion of the Orbital ATK Acquisition, we plan to establish Orbital ATK as a new, fourth business sector.