General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Fairfax County, Virginia, U.S. It was formed in 1954 thought the merger of the submarine manufacturer Electric Boat, the aircraft manufacturer Canadair, and several others.
Electric Boat
It was founded in 1899 by Isaac Rice as the Electric Boat Company to build the submersible ship designs of John Philip Holland, which was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, Holland 1.
Canadair
Canadair Ltd. (“Canada” + “air”) was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer formally created on 11 November 1944 as a separate entity by the government of Canada. It initially operated as a manufacturer of Consolidated PBY “Canso” flying boats on behalf of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
The company operates through the following business segments: Aerospace, Combat Systems, Marine Systems, Information Technology, and Mission Systems.
Aerospace
The Aerospace segment includes Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation and Jet Aviation. Gulfstream produces some of the world’s most technologically advanced business aircraft. Jet Aviation provides comprehensive business aviation services and a global network of facilities to aircraft owners and operators.
Combat Systems
The Combat Systems segment produces wheeled and tracked combat vehicles, to include the Stryker family of vehicles and the Abrams main battle tank. This portfolio is supported by a range of high-performance weapons systems and munitions.
Marine Systems
The Marine Systems segment involves the designing, building and repairing of nuclear-powered submarines, surface combatants, auxiliary and combat-logistics ships and commercial Jones Act ships.
Information Technology
The Information Technology segment deals with the creating of large-scale, secure IT networks and systems and professional services.
Mission Systems
The Mission Systems segment provides secure communications systems, command-and-control systems, sensors and cyber products.
With more than 102 000 employees, General Dynamics Corporation is considered one of the largest United States corporations by total revenue, according to Fortune Magazine. According to Forbes, it is considered one of the top 2000 largest public companies in the world.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and ”www.gd.com”.
