INFORMATION ON BUSINESS SEGMENTS - Income Statement Information For Each Segment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 29, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 29, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Net sales
Net sales	$ 15,171	$ 14,318	$ 43,934	$ 39,351
Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	6,178	5,642	17,312	15,361
MFC
Net sales
Net sales	2,601	2,273	7,362	6,035
RMS
Net sales
Net sales	3,709	3,848	11,239	10,637
Space
Net sales
Net sales	2,683	2,555	8,021	7,318
United States
Net sales
Net sales	10,821	10,488	31,610	28,610
United States | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	3,547	3,733	10,576	10,040
United States | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	2,029	1,673	5,645	4,339
United States | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	2,905	2,889	8,466	8,075
United States | Space
Net sales
Net sales	2,340	2,193	6,923	6,156
Asia Pacific
Net sales
Net sales	1,487	1,365	4,164	3,807
Asia Pacific | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	1,046	854	2,736	2,394
Asia Pacific | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	107	126	315	349
Asia Pacific | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	317	377	1,065	1,002
Asia Pacific | Space
Net sales
Net sales	17	8	48	62
Europe
Net sales
Net sales	1,738	1,340	4,658	3,778
Europe | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	1,106	691	2,751	1,877
Europe | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	138	112	363	227
Europe | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	168	213	509	592
Europe | Space
Net sales
Net sales	326	324	1,035	1,082
Middle East
Net sales
Net sales	979	905	2,883	2,528
Middle East | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	455	326	1,127	903
Middle East | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	318	347	1,003	1,091
Middle East | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	206	202	738	516
Middle East | Space
Net sales
Net sales	0	30	15	18
Other
Net sales
Net sales	146	220	619	628
Other | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	24	38	122	147
Other | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	9	15	36	29
Other | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	113	167	461	452
Other | Space
Net sales
Net sales	0	0	0	0
U.S. Government
Net sales
Net sales	10,599	10,264	30,961	27,967
U.S. Government | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	3,509	3,700	10,420	9,909
U.S. Government | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	1,995	1,625	5,528	4,215
U.S. Government | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	2,763	2,765	8,113	7,729
U.S. Government | Space
Net sales
Net sales	2,332	2,174	6,900	6,114
International
Net sales
Net sales	4,350	3,830	12,324	10,741
International | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	2,631	1,909	6,736	5,321
International | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	572	600	1,717	1,696
International | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	804	959	2,773	2,562
International | Space
Net sales
Net sales	343	362	1,098	1,162
U.S. commercial and other
Net sales
Net sales	222	224	649	643
U.S. commercial and other | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	38	33	156	131
U.S. commercial and other | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	34	48	117	124
U.S. commercial and other | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	142	124	353	346
U.S. commercial and other | Space
Net sales
Net sales	8	19	23	42
Fixed-price
Net sales
Net sales	9,311	8,943	26,703	24,089
Fixed-price | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	4,567	4,163	12,777	11,284
Fixed-price | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	1,681	1,536	4,660	4,043
Fixed-price | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	2,536	2,710	7,681	7,368
Fixed-price | Space
Net sales
Net sales	527	534	1,585	1,394
Cost-reimbursable
Net sales
Net sales	5,860	5,375	17,231	15,262
Cost-reimbursable | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	1,611	1,479	4,535	4,077
Cost-reimbursable | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	920	737	2,702	1,992
Cost-reimbursable | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	1,173	1,138	3,558	3,269
Cost-reimbursable | Space
Net sales
Net sales	2,156	2,021	6,436	5,924
Products
Net sales
Net sales	12,728	11,918	36,701	32,830
Products | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	5,340	4,799	14,876	13,080
Products | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	2,172	1,873	6,051	4,935
Products | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	2,982	3,132	9,064	8,753
Products | Space
Net sales
Net sales	2,234	2,114	6,710	6,062
Services
Net sales
Net sales	2,443	2,400	7,233	6,521
Services | Aeronautics
Net sales
Net sales	838	843	2,436	2,281
Services | MFC
Net sales
Net sales	429	400	1,311	1,100
Services | RMS
Net sales
Net sales	727	716	2,175	1,884
Services | Space
Net sales
Net sales	$ 449	$ 441	$ 1,311	$ 1,256