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General Dynamics () is a defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2005 it is the sixth largest defense contractor in the world2005 Defense News Top 100. The company has changed markedly in the post-Cold War era of defense consolidation. The company has three main business segments, Marine, Combat Systems, and Information Systems and Technology.
Marine Systems
Combat Systems
- General Dynamics Land Systems
- M1 Series Abrams Main Battle Tank
- M1A2 Series Abrams Main Battle Tank
- Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle
- Heavy Assault Bridge program
- Crusader Self-Propelled Howitzer
- General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products
- General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems
- General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems
Information Systems & Technology
- General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems
- General Dynamics C4 Systems
- General Dynamics Information Technology
- General Dynamics United Kingdom
- General Dynamics Wireless Systems
Aerospace
History
Legacy and Acquisitions
- 1899 - Electric Boat was established and became General Dynamics in 1952
- 1946 - Canadair purchased from the Canadian government
- 1953 - Convair merged with General Dynamics
- 1971-1985 David S. Lewis, Jr., was chairman and chief executive officer. During his tenure, General Dynamics’ revenues and earnings quadrupled.
- 1982 - Formed General Dynamics Combat Systems after the acquisition of Chrysler's combat systems
- 1995 - Acquired Bath Iron Works from Prudential Insurance, established in 1890
- 1996 - Acquired Teledyne Vehicle Systems.
- 1997 - Acquired Lockheed Martin Defense Systems and Lockheed Martin Armament Systems.
- 1997 - Acquired Advanced Technology Systems, formerly an operating unit of Lucent Technologies.
- 1997 - Acquired Computing Devices International, formerly a division of Ceridian Corporation.
- 1998 - Acquired National Steel and Shipbuilding, established in 1905
- 1999 - Acquired Gulfstream Aerospace from Forstmann Little, the company was founded in 1958
- 2001 - Acquired Galaxy Aerospace Company from Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI)
- 2001 - GD Decision Systems formed (and later merged with General Dynamics C4 Systems) after acquisition of Motorola's Integrated Information Systems Group
- 2002 - Acquired Advanced Technical Products
- 2003 - Acquired GM Defense from General Motors
- 2003 - Acquired Steyr Daimler Puch Spezialfahrzeug (SSF) from an Austrian investor group, which bought the company in 1998 from the Steyr-Daimler-Puch-conglomerate. SSF is now part of "General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems" which includes also the Spanish Santa Bárbara Sistemas and the Swiss MOWAG, and has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
- 2003 - Acquired Veridian.
- 2004 - Acquired Spectrum Astro.
- 2006 - Acquired Anteon International.
Divestitures
- Coal mining
- Building materials
- Limestone
- Concrete
- 1976 - Canadair sold back to the Canadian government
- 1991 - Data Systems Division outsourced to Computer Sciences Corp.
- 1992 - Tactical Missiles Division to Hughes Electronics.
- 1992 - Cessna to Textron
- 1993 - Fixed wing military aircraft to Martin Marietta
- 1993 - Space Systems Division to Martin Marietta
- 1994 - Convair's aerostructures unit to McDonnell Douglas, (Convair closed in 1996).
Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of General Dynamics are: Nicholas Chabraja, James Crown, Lester Crown, William Fricks, Charles Goodman, Jay Johnson, George Joulwan, Paul Kaminski, John Keane, Lester Lyles, Carl Mundy, and Robert Walmsley.
Financials
General Dynamics has about $12 billion in sales, primarily military, but also civilian with its Gulfstream Aerospace unit and conventional ship-building and repair with its National Steel and Shipbuilding subsidiary.
In 2004 General Dynamics bid for the UK company Alvis Vickers, the leading British manufacturer of armoured vehicles. In March the board of Alvis Vickers voted in favour of the £309m takeover. However at the last minute BAE Systems offered £355m for the company in what was seen as a move to keep General Dynamics out of its "back yard". This deal was finalised in June 2004.
General Dynamics has tried to acquire Newport News Shipbuilding but been blocked by regulators and competitors, as this would make General Dynamics the sole manufacturer of nuclear-powered ships in the United States.
Controlled subsidiaries of the corporation are donors to the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute *.
Current stock price as of 2005-02-04 is $63, after splitting in 2006-03-26.
References
- Patents owned by General Dynamics Corporation. US Patent & Trademark Office. URL accessed on 5 December 2005.
External links
Fortune 1000 | General Dynamics | 1952 establishments
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"General Dynamics"