General Dynamics

In 1951, the company was awarded the contract to build the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN571). The submarine was launched in 1954.

Aircraft production became increasingly important at Canadair, and Hopkins argued that the name "Electric Boat" was no longer appropriate. In 1952, Hopkins reorganized Electric Boat as a holding company, General Dynamics Corporation, with Electric Boat and Canadair as major subsidiaries.

In 1953, Electric Boat purchased Convair from the Atlas Corporation. The sale was approved by government oversight with the provision that the former would continue to operate out of Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth, Texas. This factory had been set up in order to spread out strategic aircraft production, and it was rented to Convair during the war to produce B-24 Liberator bombers. On April 29, 1954, the merger between Electric Boat and Convair became official and the company was named General Dynamics.

Convair worked as an independent division inside General Dynamics and, over the next decade, developed the F-106 Delta Dart interceptor, the B-58 Hustler bomber, and the Convair 880 and 990 airliners. Convair also developed the Atlas missile, the U.S.'s first operational intercontinental ballistic missile. Convair led the development of the American nuclear aircraft program, which the Pentagon enthusiastically supported. CEO Hopkins was a strong advocate of nuclear power and its numerous applications, but the nuclear airplane, or 'N-bomber,' was later found to be impractical, and the project was abandoned. The division would also become a significant contributor to the American space program.

In the late 1950s, General Dynamics hired Erik Nitsche as a graphic designer to develop corporate reports and advertising material designs, including the "Atoms for Peace" series of posters for the 1955 International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva, Switzerland. These designs have become iconic examples of the mid-century modernist graphic design style.

In 1957, Hopkins fell seriously ill and was replaced by Frank Pace later that year. John Naish succeeded Joseph McNarney as president of Convair. In the same year, General Dynamics purchased Liquid Carbonic Corporation in September 1957 and controlled it as a wholly owned subsidiary.

In 1959, the U.S. Navy commissioned Electric Boat to design and build the first fleet ballistic-missile submarine, USS George Washington (SSBN598). The George Washington-class ballistic missile submarines were derived from the Skipjack-class submarine design, with a 130-foot missile compartment inserted between the control and reactor sections. The USS George Washington (SSBN-598) was initially laid down as the Skipjack-class USS Scorpion (SSN-589), but was repurposed during construction to accommodate the Polaris missile system. Materials from other planned attack submarines, including USS Sculpin (SSN-590), were also reallocated to the program.

The same year, Chicago industrialist Henry Crown became the company's largest shareholder and merged his Material Service Corporation with General Dynamics in 1959. General Dynamics subsequently reorganized into Eastern Group in New York City and Western Group in San Diego, California, with the latter taking over all of the aerospace activities. This separated the branding between Convair-manufactured product types, with defense and space phased out the Convair brand name which rebranded those as simply General Dynamics to present the latter's status as a prime contractor to the U.S. government being the only customer and user of those while commercial ones and Convair-related artist conceptions retain the brand. The board decided to build all future planes in Fort Worth, Texas, ending plane production at Convair's original plant in San Diego, California, but continuing with space and missile development there.

1961–1980

In 1961, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara initiated the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) program to develop a single aircraft design for the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. General Dynamics and Boeing were selected to submit updated designs. McNamara selected General Dynamics' proposal due to the greater commonality between its versions. The Boeing aircraft shared less than half of the major structural components. The F-111's design pioneered variable-sweep wings, after-burning turbofan engines, and automated terrain-following radar for low-level, high-speed flight. General Dynamics continued to develop its version of the F-111 at the former Convair facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The company built 563 F-111s.

In 1962, Roger Lewis was appointed Chairman and CEO of General Dynamics. In 1963, General Dynamics purchased the Quincy Shipbuilding Works from Bethlehem Steel. In 1965, General Dynamics reorganized into 12 operating divisions based on product lines. In 1967, Electric Boat launched the USS Sturgeon (SSN637), the lead ship in the Sturgeon class of attack submarines. In 1970, the board replaced Roger Lewis with former McDonnell Douglas president David S. Lewis as Chief Executive Officer. David S. Lewis relocated the company headquarters to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1971. Later that year, Electric Boat and Newport News Shipbuilding were awarded contracts to co-manufacture the Los Angeles-class submarines. In 1972, Electric Boat received contracts for the design and development of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine. Electric Boat also developed a new modular process to build the 560-foot submarines; the process remains the industry standard. Construction of the flagship Los Angeles-class attack submarine began the same year. In 1973, General Dynamics established the Quonset Point Facility in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, to provide off-site manufacturing support for the Groton facility. Production began the following year.

The U.S. Air Force initiated the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program to develop a new fighter aircraft that met the requirements of Major John Boyd's "energy-maneuverability" theory. General Dynamics organized its own version of Lockheed's Skunk Works, the Advanced Concepts Laboratory, and responded with a new aircraft design incorporating advanced technologies. General Dynamics submitted a design in 1972 for a new lightweight fighter, the YF-16. The YF-16 first flew in January 1974 and proved slightly better performance than the Northrop Grumman YF-17 in head-to-head testing. General Dynamics YF-16 was selected as the first Lightweight Fighter for the U.S. Air Force. It entered production as the F-16 Fighting Falcon in January 1975 with an initial order of 650 and 1,388. The F-16 also won contracts worldwide, beating the F-17 in foreign competition. General Dynamics built the F-16 at Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth, Texas, near Carswell Air Force Base, to fulfill the contracts. F-16 orders eventually totaled more than 4,600, making it the company's largest aircraft program. Peak production took place in the late 1980s, when some 30,000 General Dynamics workers turned out an F-16 a day.

In 1975, General Dynamics Electric Boat broke ground on a land-level submarine construction facility in Groton, Connecticut. In 1976, General Dynamics sold the struggling Canadair back to the Canadian government for $38 million.

1981–2000

In 1980, Electric Boat’s automated frame and cylinder facility at Quonset Point became fully operational. The automated frame and cylinder facility enabled the modular construction of nuclear-powered submarines.

When General Dynamics purchased Chrysler Defense, Inc., the division was renamed General Dynamics Land Systems.

In 1985, a further reorganization created the Space Systems Division from the Convair Space Division. Later that year, the company also acquired Cessna. In 1986, the General Dynamics Quincy Shipbuilding Division was closed.

Henry Crown, still General Dynamics's largest shareholder, died on August 15, 1990. After his death, the company began rapidly divesting its underperforming divisions under CEO William Anders. The company divested Data Systems Division, Cessna, its Electronics Division, and Missile Division.

In 1991, Electric Boat was awarded the contract to build the second Seawolf submarine (SSN 22), later named Connecticut. Cessna was re-sold to Textron in January 1992, the San Diego and Pomona missile production units were sold to General Motors-Hughes Aerospace in May 1992, the Fort Worth aircraft production to Lockheed in March 1993 (a nearby electronics production facility was separately sold to Israeli-based Elbit Systems, marking that company's entry into the US market), and its Space Systems Division to Martin Marietta in 1994. The remaining Convair Aircraft Structure unit was sold to McDonnell Douglas in 1994. The Convair Division was simply closed in 1996.

In July 1993 The Pentagon hosted a dinner, later dubbed the Last Supper, which was attended by representatives of 51 major United States defense contractors to discuss industry consolidation after the end of the Cold War. After the dinner, the industry consolidated into the "Big Five". By following the Pentagon’s directive to consolidate, General Dynamics focused its businesses on two specific areas, Land Systems (tanks) and Marine Systems (submarines). The company eventually became the sole provider for the M1 Abrams tank and one of only two primary builders of nuclear submarines.

In 1995, General Dynamics purchased the privately-held Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath, Maine, for $300 million, diversifying its shipbuilding portfolio to include U.S. Navy surface ships such as guided-missile destroyers. In 1998, the company acquired NASSCO, formerly National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, for $415 million. The San Diego shipyard produces U.S. Navy auxiliary and support ships as well as commercial ships that are eligible to be U.S.-flagged under the Jones Act.

In 1997, General Dynamics acquired Computing Devices Ltd based in Hastings, England, which had developed avionics and mission systems for the Panavia Tornado, British Aerospace Harrier II and Hawker Siddeley Nimrod. In 2001, Computing Devices Canada (CDC) was awarded a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence to supply tactical communication systems for their Bowman program. The work for this was carried out at its new UK headquarters in Oakdale, Wales, and the company was renamed General Dynamics UK Limited. As of 2020, it comprises two business units: General Dynamics Land Systems – UK and General Dynamics Mission Systems – UK and operates in eight sites across the United Kingdom. It is currently responsible for delivering the General Dynamics Ajax family of armored vehicles, the Foxhound light protected patrol vehicle and the Morpheus communications system to the UK Ministry of Defence.

In 1999, General Dynamics expanded beyond its defense industry focus with the acquisition of Gulfstream Aerospace, stabilizing its income with the commercial aviation business.

2001–2020

In 2001, the company purchased Spain’s Santa Barbara Sistemas, part of broader expansion into the European market. In 2003, the company acquired the Austrian vehicle manufacturer Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug, adding it to the newly established General Dynamics European Land Systems business unit.

In 2003, General Dynamics purchased the defense divisions of General Motors, adding them to the General Dynamics Land Systems business unit. Having divested itself of its aviation holdings, GD had concentrated on land and sea products. GD had purchased Chrysler's defense divisions in 1982, renaming them General Dynamics Land Systems. In 2003, it purchased the defense divisions of General Motors as well. It became a major supplier of armored vehicles of all types, including the M1 Abrams, LAV 25, Stryker, and a wide variety of vehicles based on these chassis.

In 2004, General Dynamics bid for the UK company Alvis plc, the leading British manufacturer of armored vehicles. In March the board of Alvis Vickers voted in favor of the £309m takeover. However at the last minute BAE Systems offered £355m for the company. This deal was finalized in June 2004.

In 2008, General Dynamics acquired Jet Aviation, becoming a business unit within the company. In the same year, General Dynamics resolved claims that its General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products subsidiary fraudulently billed the government for parts used in Navy and Air Force aircraft and submarines, and agreed to settle the charges by paying $4 million to the US government. On August 19, 2008, GD agreed to pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the US Government claiming that a GD unit fraudulently billed the government for defectively manufactured parts used in US military aircraft and submarines. The US alleged that GD defectively manufactured or failed to test parts used in US military aircraft from September 2001 to August 2003, such as for the C-141 Starlifter transport plane. The GD unit involved, based in Glen Cove, New York, had closed in 2004.

In 2010, the US Navy restarted the Arleigh Burke Class destroyer program. The ship's contract awards alternated between Bath Iron Works and Ingalls Shipbuilding. In the same year, the US Navy awarded Bath Iron Works all three ships in the DDG 1000 program.

Force Protection, Inc. was acquired by General Dynamics Land Systems in November 2011 for $350 million.

In 2013, Phebe N. Novakovic was promoted from chief operating officer to chair and chief executive officer.

A $10 billion deal with the Canadian Commercial Corporation was criticized by political opponents because of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. An article published by the digital magazine, Quartz, reported that since 2000, GDIT has provided services to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, now as part of the Trump administration family separation policy.

In 2018, General Dynamics acquired information technology services company CSRA for $9.7 billion and merged the company into General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) (that subsidiary had been created in 2006 when Anteon International Corporation was combined with General Dynamics Network Systems). The CSRA acquisition allowed GDIT to expand information technology services to the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, and federal civilian agencies. In the same year, the U.S. Navy awarded 10 new contracts for Arleigh Burke-class destroyers from General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and Huntington Ingalls Industries.

General Dynamics has been accused by groups such as Code Pink and Green America of "making money from human suffering by profiting off the migrant children held at U.S. detention camps" due to its IT services contracts with the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, the government agency that operates shelters for unaccompanied children to include those separated from their families as part of the Trump administration family separation policy. The company says it has no role in constructing or operating detention centers, and that its contracts to provide training and technical services began in 2000 and have spanned across four presidential administrations.

It was announced in September 2018 that the U.S. Navy awarded contracts for 10 new Arleigh Burke-class destroyers from General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense General Jim Mattis re-joined the company's board of directors in August 2019. He had previously served on the board, but resigned and divested before becoming Secretary of Defense.