General Dynamics
General Dynamics () is a defense
conglomerate formed by
mergers and
divestitures, and as of
2005 it is the sixth largest
defense contractor in the world
[2005 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.
*
American Overseas Marine Corporation *
Bath Iron Works*
Electric Boat*
National Steel and Shipbuilding*
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**
Steyr-Daimler-Puch*
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems*
General Dynamics C4 Systems*
General Dynamics Information Technology*
General Dynamics United Kingdom*
General Dynamics Wireless Systems*
Gulfstream AerospaceLegacy 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).
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.
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 [1].
Current stock price as of
2005-02-04 is $63, after splitting in
2006-03-26.
*
Patents owned by General Dynamics Corporation. US Patent & Trademark Office. URL accessed on 5 December 2005.*
General Dynamics Corporation website*
Yahoo! - General Dynamics Corporation Company Profile
