Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Jan. 27, 2013	Jul. 01, 2012
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	GD
Entity Registrant Name	GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION
Entity Central Index Key	0000040533
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		352,442,904
Entity Public Float			$ 22,029,273,687
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes