Exhibit 99.1

2941 Fairview Park Drive
Suite 100
Falls Church, VA 22042-4513
www.generaldynamics.com


News

July 21, 2004
Contact: Rob Doolittle
Tel: 703 876 3199
Fax: 703 876 3555
rdoolitt@generaldynamics.com

General Dynamics Posts Strong Second Quarter

• EPS increases 22 percent

• Strong cash flow

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) today reported 2004 second quarter revenues of $4.8 billion, compared to 2003 second quarter revenues of $3.9 billion. Net earnings in the 2004 second quarter were $300 million, or $1.49 per share on a fully diluted basis, compared with 2003 second quarter net earnings of $242 million, or $1.22 per share fully diluted. Net cash provided by operating activities was $361 million for the quarter. Free cash flow from operations, defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures, was $296 million.

Funded backlog at the end of the second quarter was $26.4 billion, and total backlog was $41.1 billion, compared with $27 billion and $41.6 billion, respectively, at the end of the first quarter of 2004.

“General Dynamics’ continued focus on program performance generated excellent results in the quarter,” said Nicholas D. Chabraja, General Dynamics chairman and chief executive officer. “The business aviation group more than doubled its earnings over the year-ago period as a result of our cost curtailment efforts and tightened control over pre-owned activity. Information Systems and Technology and Combat Systems continued to provide strong revenue growth with healthy margins, and Marine Systems’ year-over-year performance was significantly improved,” Chabraja said.

“Our strong cash flow allowed us to further strengthen our balance sheet by reducing net debt almost $300 million in the quarter,” Chabraja said. Net debt is defined as total debt minus cash on hand.

– more –

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 69,400 people worldwide and anticipates 2004 revenue of $19 billion. The company is a market leader in mission-critical information systems and technologies; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and business aviation.

Certain statements made in this press release, including any statements as to future results of operations and financial projections, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. Additional information regarding these factors is contained in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Forms 10-Q.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made. The company does not undertake any obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this press release.

WEBCAST INFORMATION: General Dynamics will webcast its second quarter security analyst conference call, scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, July 21, 2004. Those accessing the webcast will be able to listen to management’s discussion of the second quarter, as well as the question and answer session with security analysts.

The webcast will be a listen-only audio broadcast, available at www.generaldynamics.com. A Real Audio player or Windows Media™ player is required to access the webcast; information about downloading those players is available on the company’s website. An on-demand replay of the webcast will be available by 2 p.m. on July 21 and will continue for 12 months.

To hear a recording of the conference call by telephone, please call 719-457-0820; passcode 5822384. It will be available from 2 p.m. on July 21 until midnight on August 5, 2004.

– more –

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EARNINGS (UNAUDITED)
DOLLARS IN MILLIONS, EXCEPT PER SHARE AMOUNTS

	Second Quarter						Variance
	2004			2003			$			%
NET SALES	$	4,761		$	3,935		$	826			21.0	%
OPERATING COSTS AND EXPENSES		4,267			3,557			(710	)
OPERATING EARNINGS		494			378			116			30.7	%
Interest, Net		(39	)		(19	)		(20	)
Other Income, Net		(12	)		2			(14	)
EARNINGS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES		443			361			82			22.7	%
Provision for Income Taxes		147			119			(28	)
EARNINGS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS	$	296		$	242		$	54			22.3	%
Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax		4			—			4
NET EARNINGS	$	300		$	242		$	58			24.0	%
EARNINGS PER SHARE — BASIC
Continuing Operations	$	1.49		$	1.23		$	0.26			21.1	%
Discontinued Operations	$	0.02		$	—		$	0.02
Net Earnings	$	1.51		$	1.23		$	0.28			22.8	%
BASIC WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING (IN MILLIONS)		199.2			197.2
EARNINGS PER SHARE — DILUTED
Continuing Operations	$	1.47		$	1.22		$	0.25			20.5	%
Discontinued Operations	$	0.02		$	—		$	0.02
Net Earnings	$	1.49		$	1.22		$	0.27			22.1	%
DILUTED WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING (IN MILLIONS)		201.0			198.6

Exhibit A
— more —

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EARNINGS (UNAUDITED)
DOLLARS IN MILLIONS, EXCEPT PER SHARE AMOUNTS

	Six Months						Variance
	2004			2003			$			%
NET SALES	$	9,521		$	7,356		$	2,165			29.4	%
OPERATING COSTS AND EXPENSES		8,585			6,660			(1,925	)
OPERATING EARNINGS		936			696			240			34.5	%
Interest, Net		(78	)		(30	)		(48	)
Other Income, Net		(12	)		6			(18	)
EARNINGS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES		846			672			174			25.9	%
Provision for Income Taxes		281			209			(72	)
EARNINGS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS	$	565		$	463		$	102			22.0	%
Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax		4			—			4
NET EARNINGS	$	569		$	463		$	106			22.9	%
EARNINGS PER SHARE — BASIC
Continuing Operations	$	2.84		$	2.34		$	0.50			21.4	%
Discontinued Operations	$	0.02		$	—		$	0.02
Net Earnings	$	2.86		$	2.34		$	0.52			22.2	%
BASIC WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING (IN MILLIONS)		198.8			198.1
EARNINGS PER SHARE — DILUTED
Continuing Operations	$	2.82		$	2.32		$	0.50			21.6	%
Discontinued Operations	$	0.02		$	—		$	0.02
Net Earnings	$	2.84		$	2.32		$	0.52			22.4	%
DILUTED WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING (IN MILLIONS)		200.7			199.4

Exhibit B
— more —

NET SALES AND OPERATING EARNINGS BY SEGMENT (UNAUDITED)
DOLLARS IN MILLIONS

	Second Quarter						Variance
	2004			2003			$			%
NET SALES:
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY	$	1,712		$	1,152		$	560			48.6	%
COMBAT SYSTEMS		1,036			1,016			20			2.0	%
MARINE SYSTEMS		1,177			983			194			19.7	%
AEROSPACE		771			715			56			7.8	%
RESOURCES		65			69			(4	)		(5.8	)%
TOTAL	$	4,761		$	3,935		$	826			21.0	%
OPERATING EARNINGS:
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY	$	195		$	141		$	54			38.3	%
COMBAT SYSTEMS		117			119			(2	)		(1.7	)%
MARINE SYSTEMS		81			64			17			26.6	%
AEROSPACE		94			45			49			108.9	%
RESOURCES		7			9			(2	)		(22.2	)%
TOTAL	$	494		$	378		$	116			30.7	%
OPERATING MARGINS:
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY		11.4	%		12.2	%
COMBAT SYSTEMS		11.3	%		11.7	%
MARINE SYSTEMS		6.9	%		6.5	%
AEROSPACE		12.2	%		6.3	%
RESOURCES		10.8	%		13.0	%
TOTAL		10.4	%		9.6	%

Exhibit C
— more —

NET SALES AND OPERATING EARNINGS BY SEGMENT (UNAUDITED)
DOLLARS IN MILLIONS

	Six Months						Variance
	2004			2003			$			%
NET SALES:
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY	$	3,428		$	2,147		$	1,281			59.7	%
COMBAT SYSTEMS		2,147			1,831			316			17.3	%
MARINE SYSTEMS		2,457			1,959			498			25.4	%
AEROSPACE		1,377			1,309			68			5.2	%
RESOURCES		112			110			2			1.8	%
TOTAL	$	9,521		$	7,356		$	2,165			29.4	%
OPERATING EARNINGS:
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY	$	365		$	252		$	113			44.8	%
COMBAT SYSTEMS		234			211			23			10.9	%
MARINE SYSTEMS		179			129			50			38.8	%
AEROSPACE		160			85			75			88.2	%
RESOURCES		(2	)		19			(21	)		(110.5	)%
TOTAL	$	936		$	696		$	240			34.5	%
OPERATING MARGINS:
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY		10.6	%		11.7	%
COMBAT SYSTEMS		10.9	%		11.5	%
MARINE SYSTEMS		7.3	%		6.6	%
AEROSPACE		11.6	%		6.5	%
RESOURCES		-1.8	%		17.3	%
TOTAL		9.8	%		9.5	%

Exhibit D
— more —

PRELIMINARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)
DOLLARS IN MILLIONS EXCEPT PER SHARE AND EMPLOYEE AMOUNTS

	Second Quarter							Second Quarter
	2004							2003
Cash	$	1,100						$	811
Short-term Debt	$	519						$	364
Long-term Debt		3,297							2,720
Total Debt	$	3,816						$	3,084
Net Debt	$	2,716						$	2,273
Shareholders’ Equity	$	6,458						$	5,407
Debt-to-Equity		59.1	%						57.0	%
Debt-to-Capital		37.1	%						36.3	%
Book Value per Share	$	32.31						$	27.42
	Quarter				Year-to-date			Quarter				Year-to-date
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities	$	361		$		690		$	257		$		458
Capital Expenditures		(65	)			(118	)		(36	)			(67	)
Free Cash Flow From Operations (A)	$	296		$		572		$	221		$		391
Total Taxes Paid	$	67						$	116
Depreciation and Depletion	$	61						$	46
Other Intangible Assets Amortization		25							10
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization	$	86						$	56
Company Sponsored R&D (B)	$	93						$	65
Employment		69,400							57,300
Sales Per Employee	$	282,100						$	265,500
Shares Outstanding		199,849,169							197,162,542
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding -
Basic		199,199,301							197,224,288
Diluted		201,018,473							198,578,955

(A)

The company’s management believes free cash flow from operations is a measurement that is useful to investors, because it portrays the company’s ability to generate cash from its core businesses for such purposes as repaying maturing debt, funding business acquisitions and paying dividends. The most directly comparable GAAP measure to free cash flow from operations is net cash provided by operating activities.

(B)

Includes independent research and development and bid and proposal costs and Gulfstream product development costs.

Exhibit E
— more —

BACKLOG (UNAUDITED)
DOLLARS IN MILLIONS

	Second Quarter 2004
					Total		IDIQ		Total Estimated
	Funded		Unfunded		Backlog		Contract Value (A)		Contract Value
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY	$	6,172	$	1,406	$	7,578	$	5,826	$	13,404
COMBAT SYSTEMS		6,644		2,497		9,141		152		9,293
MARINE SYSTEMS		9,387		8,512		17,899		—		17,899
AEROSPACE		3,970		2,257		6,227		—		6,227
RESOURCES		235		57		292		—		292
TOTAL	$	26,408	$	14,729	$	41,137	$	5,978	$	47,115

	First Quarter 2004
					Total		IDIQ		Total Estimated
	Funded		Unfunded		Backlog		Contract Value (A)		Contract Value
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY	$	6,480	$	1,445	$	7,925	$	5,934	$	13,859
COMBAT SYSTEMS		6,320		2,370		8,690		183		8,873
MARINE SYSTEMS		9,968		8,357		18,325		—		18,325
AEROSPACE		4,094		2,386		6,480		—		6,480
RESOURCES		145		57		202		—		202
TOTAL	$	27,007	$	14,615	$	41,622	$	6,117	$	47,739

(A) IDIQ contract value represents management’s estimate of the future contract value under existing indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts. Because the value in these arrangements is subject to the customer’s future exercise of an indeterminate quantity of delivery orders, the company recognizes these contracts in backlog only when they are funded.

Exhibit F
— more —

AIRCRAFT DELIVERIES (UNAUDITED)

	Second Quarter				Six Months
	2004		2003		2004		2003
GREEN:
LARGE AIRCRAFT		14		12		27		23
MID-SIZE AIRCRAFT		6		7		10		11
TOTAL		20		19		37		34
COMPLETIONS:
LARGE AIRCRAFT		15		11		22		25
MID-SIZE AIRCRAFT		3		2		8		5
TOTAL		18		13		30		30
PRE-OWNED:		4		11		7		15

Exhibit G

# # #