Editing General Dynamics (section)

==History==
===Electric Boat===
{{main|General Dynamics Electric Boat}}
General Dynamics traces its ancestry to [[John Philip Holland]]'s [[Holland Torpedo Boat Company]].<ref>{{cite book |author=David Claerbaut |title=Duffy Daugherty: A Man Ahead of His Time |year=2018 |pages=67–73 |publisher=Michigan State University Press |doi=10.14321/j.ctv47wfsz.13 |jstor=10.14321/j.ctv47wfsz.13 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.14321/j.ctv47wfsz |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510041214/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.14321/j.ctv47wfsz |archive-date=2019-05-10 }}</ref> In 1899, [[Isaac Rice (businessman)|Isaac Rice]] bought the company from Holland and renamed it Electric Boat Company.<ref name="history1">{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/general-dynamics-corporation-history/|title=History of General Dynamics Corporation|publisher=Funding Universe |access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref> Electric Boat was responsible for developing the [[U.S. Navy]]'s first modern [[submarine]]s, which were purchased by the Navy in 1900.<ref name="britannicahistory">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/General-Dynamics-Corp|title=General Dynamics Corp|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref>

In 1906, Electric Boat subcontracted submarine construction to the [[Fore River Shipyard]] in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]], to build the submarines they had designed and won contracts for. Between 1917 and 1924, the company was named Submarine Boat Corporation.<ref name="history1" /> In 1933, Electric Boat acquired ownership of a shipyard in [[Groton, Connecticut]], to build submarines.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} The first submarine built in Groton to be delivered to the U.S. Navy was [[USS Cuttlefish (SS-171)|USS ''Cuttlefish'']] in 1934.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Streeter |first=Jim |date=May 11, 2018 |title=History Revisited: Electric Boat Company's astounding manufacturing diversity |url=https://www.theday.com/local-news/20180511/history-revisited-electric-boat-companys-astounding-manufacturing-diversity/ |work=[[The Day (New London)|The Day]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208165608/https://www.theday.com/local-news/20180511/history-revisited-electric-boat-companys-astounding-manufacturing-diversity/ |archive-date=February 8, 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=February 8, 2024}}</ref>

Electric Boat was cash-flush but lacking in work following [[World War II]], during which it produced 80 submarines for the Navy, with its workforce shrinking from 13,000 to 4,000 by 1946.<ref name="history1" /> President and chief executive officer [[John Jay Hopkins]] started looking for companies that would fit into Electric Boat's market in hopes of diversifying.<ref name="history1" />

===Canadair purchase===
{{Further|Canadair}}
[[Canadair]] was owned by the Canadian government and was suffering from the same post-war malaise as Electric Boat. It was up for sale, and Hopkins bought the company for $10 million in 1946. The factory alone was worth more than $22 million, according to the Canadian government's calculations,<ref name="history1" /> excluding the value of the remaining contracts for planes or spare parts. However, Canadair's production line and inventory systems were in disorder when Electric Boat purchased the company. Hopkins hired Canadian-born mass-production specialist H. Oliver West to take over the president's role and return Canadair to profitability. Shortly after the takeover, Canadair began delivering its new [[Canadair North Star]] (a version of the [[Douglas DC-4]]) and was able to deliver aircraft to [[Trans-Canada Airlines]], [[Canadian Pacific Airlines]], and [[British Overseas Airways Corporation]] (BOAC) well in advance of their contracted delivery times.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/canadair50yearhistory/introduction|title=introduction - canadair50yearhistory|website=sites.google.com|access-date=2019-08-21|archive-date=2022-08-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801125039/https://sites.google.com/site/canadair50yearhistory/introduction|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Defense spending increased with the onset of the Cold War, and Canadair went on to win many Canadian military contracts for the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] and became a major aerospace company. These included [[Canadair CT-133 Silver Star]] trainer, the [[Canadair Argus]] long-range maritime reconnaissance and [[Military transport aircraft|transport aircraft]], and the [[Canadair F-86]] ''Sabre''. Between 1950 and 1958, 1,815 Sabres were built. Canadair also produced 200 [[CF-104 Starfighter]] supersonic fighter aircraft, a license-built version of the [[Lockheed F-104 Starfighter|Lockheed F-104]].

In 1976, General Dynamics sold Canadair to the Canadian Government for $38 million.<ref name="CA sold back" /> Canadair was acquired by [[Bombardier Inc.]] in 1986.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/19/business/company-news-canadair-to-be-sold-to-bombardier-inc.html|title=COMPANY NEWS; Canadair to Be Sold To Bombardier Inc.|last=Salpukas|first=Agis|date=1986-08-19|work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-08-21|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===General Dynamics emerges===
Aircraft production became increasingly important at Canadair, and Hopkins argued that the name "Electric Boat" was no longer appropriate—so Electric Boat was reorganized as General Dynamics on 21 February 1952.<ref name="centennial_GD">{{cite web |url=http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/generaldynamics/Aero35.htm |title=General Dynamics Corporation |publisher=U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission |access-date=2008-12-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112045623/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/generaldynamics/Aero35.htm |archive-date=2008-11-12 }}</ref>

General Dynamics purchased [[Convair]] from the Atlas Group in March 1953.<ref name="centennial_GD" /> The sale was approved by government oversight with the provision that GD 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 rented to Convair during the war to produce [[B-24 Liberator]] bombers.

Convair worked as an independent division inside General Dynamics and, over the next decade, developed the [[F-106 Delta Dart]] [[interceptor aircraft|interceptor]], the [[B-58 Hustler]] [[bomber]], and the [[Convair 880]] and [[Convair 990|990]] [[airliner]]s. Convair also developed the [[Atlas missile]], the US's first operational [[intercontinental ballistic missile]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnsen |first=Frederick A. |title=Captured Eagles: Secrets of the Luftwaffe |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-78200-973-3 |location=Oxford, UK |pages=146 |language=en}}</ref>

General Dynamics purchased Liquid Carbonic Corporation in September 1957 and controlled it as a wholly owned subsidiary until a Federal antitrust ruling required its sale to shareholders in January 1969, being bought later that month by Houston Natural Gas Company.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/258/36/1510699/ |title=United States v. General Dynamics Corporation, 258 F. Supp. 36 (S.D.N.Y. 1966)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/28/archives/market-place-hitormiss-notification.html |title=Market Place| newspaper=The New York Times| date=1975-03-28| last1=Metz| first1=Robert}}</ref>

From 1955 to 1960, General Dynamics hired [[Erik Nitsche]] as a graphic designer to develop designs for corporate reports and advertising material<ref>{{Cite news |last=Heller |first=Steven |date=1998-11-29 |title=Erik Nitsche, 90, Modernist Graphic Designer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/29/nyregion/erik-nitsche-90-modernist-graphic-designer.html |access-date=2024-07-26 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> including the "[[Atoms for Peace]]" series of posters for the 1955 [[International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy]] in Geneva, Switzerland. These designs have become iconic examples of the mid-century [[Modern art|modernist]] graphic design style.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-23 |title=Erik Nitsche's Modernist Vision |url=https://www.swanngalleries.com/news/vintage-posters/2018/02/erik-nitsche-modernist-vision/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Swann Galleries News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Erik Nitsche |url=https://www.oneclub.org/adc-hall-of-fame/-bio/erik-nitsche |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=www.oneclub.org |language=en}}</ref>

===Management churn===
Hopkins fell seriously ill in 1957 and was eventually replaced by Frank Pace later that year.<ref name="centennial_GD" /> Meanwhile, John Naish succeeded Joseph McNarney as president of Convair. Chicago industrialist [[Henry Crown]] became the company's largest shareholder and merged his [[Material Service Corporation]] with GD in 1959.<ref name="henrycrown">{{Cite book |first=Stewart |last=Alsop |title=America's Big New Rich |date=July 17, 1965 |publisher=The Saturday Evening Post}}</ref>

GD 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 and dropping the Convair brand name from its aircraft in the process.<ref name="history2">{{cite book |author=Donald M. Pattillo |date=2001 |publisher=University of Michigan Press|title=Pushing the Envelope: The American Aircraft Industry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=shwtKbTbEuEC&q=general+dynamics+reorganize+western+eastern+group&pg=PA225|pages=225, 226 |isbn=0472086715 |access-date=April 20, 2020}}</ref>

Frank Pace retired under pressure in 1962 and Roger Lewis, former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force and [[Pan American Airways]] CEO, was brought in as CEO. The company recovered, then fell back into the same struggles. In 1970, the board brought in [[McDonnell Douglas]] president [[David S. Lewis Jr.|Dave Lewis]] (no relation) as chairman and CEO, who served until retiring in 1985.<ref name="history1" />

===Aviation in the 1960s===
During the early 1960s the company bid on the [[United States Air Force]]'s [[TFX Program|Tactical Fighter, Experimental]] (TFX) project for a new low-level "penetrator". [[Robert McNamara]], newly installed as the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], forced a merger of the TFX with [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] plans for a new long-range "fleet defender" aircraft. Since GD lacked experience designing naval aircraft, it partnered with [[Grumman]] to develop a version for [[aircraft carrier]] operations. After four rounds of bids and changes, the GD/Grumman team finally won the contract over a [[Boeing]] submission.

The land-based [[General Dynamics F-111|F-111]] first flew in December 1964; the carrier-capable [[General Dynamics–Grumman F-111B#F-111B|F-111B]] flew in May 1965, but proved overweight and underpowered for the navy's needs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/13_sep2018-cancelled-f111b-1-180969916/|title=Was the Navy's F-111 Really That Bad?|work=[[Air&Space Magazine]]|author=Robert Bernier |access-date=April 22, 2020}}</ref> With the naval version not accepted, production estimates for 2,400 F-111s including exports were sharply reduced, but GD still made a $300 million profit on the project.<ref name="history2" /> Grumman went on to use many of the innovations of the F-111 in the [[F-14 Tomcat]],<ref name="history1" /> an aircraft designed solely as a carrier-borne fighter.

===Reorganization===
In May 1965, GD reorganized into 12 operating divisions based on product lines. The board decided to build all future planes in Fort Worth, ending plane production at Convair's original plant in San Diego but continuing with space and missile development there. In October 1970, Roger Lewis left and David S. Lewis from [[McDonnell Douglas]] was named CEO. Lewis required that the company headquarters move to [[St. Louis, Missouri]], which occurred in February 1971.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/boeing-moving-defense-hq-from-st-louis-to-d-c/article_029c405c-5f9b-5445-9008-3f8084708306.html|title=Boeing moving defense HQ from St. Louis to D.C. area|last=Brown|first=Lisa|work=Saint Louis Post-Dispatch |access-date=2017-04-12|language=en}}</ref>

===F-16 success===
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2020}}
In 1972, GD bid on the USAF's [[Lightweight Fighter]] (LWF) project. GD and [[Northrop Corporation|Northrop]] were awarded prototype contracts. GD's F-111 program was winding down, and the company needed a new aircraft contract. It organized its own version of [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]]'s [[Skunk Works]], the Advanced Concepts Laboratory, and responded with a new aircraft design incorporating advanced technologies. The company submitted a design in a 1972 competition for a new lightweight fighter, which it won. This was the F-16 ''Fighting Falcon''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Piehler |first=G. Kurt |title=Encyclopedia of Military Science |date=2013-07-24 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4129-6933-8 |location=Thousand Oaks, CA |pages=576 |language=en}}</ref>

GD's [[F-16 Fighting Falcon|YF-16]] first flew in January 1974 and proved to have slightly better performance than the [[Northrop YF-17|YF-17]] in head-to-head testing. It entered production as the F-16 in January 1975 with an initial order of 650 and a total order of 1,388. The F-16 also won contracts worldwide, beating the F-17 in foreign competition as well. GD built an aircraft production factory in Fort Worth, Texas. F-16 orders eventually totaled more than 4,600, making it the company's largest and most successful program and the world's most common fixed-wing aircraft in military service. <ref>2025 World Air Forces, ''Flight Global'', p. 10.</ref>

===Land Systems and Marine Systems focus===
{{main|General Dynamics Land Systems}}
{{More citations needed|section|date=June 2020}}
In 1976, General Dynamics sold the struggling Canadair back to the Canadian government for $38 million. By 1984, General Dynamics had four divisions: Convair in San Diego, General Dynamics-Fort Worth, General Dynamics-Pomona, and General Dynamics-Electronics. In 1985 a further reorganization created the Space Systems Division from the Convair Space division. In 1985, GD also acquired [[Cessna]]. In 1986 the Pomona division (which mainly produced the Standard Missile and the [[Phalanx CIWS]] for the Navy) was split up, creating the Valley Systems Division. Valley Systems produced the [[FIM-92 Stinger|Stinger]] surface-to-air missile and the [[RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile|Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM)]]. Both units were recombined into one entity in 1992.

Henry Crown, still GD's largest shareholder, died on 15 August 1990. Following this, the company started to rapidly divest its under-performing divisions under CEO [[William Anders]]. Cessna was re-sold to [[Textron]] in January 1992, the San Diego and Pomona missile production units to [[General Motors]]-[[Hughes Aerospace]] in May 1992, the Fort Worth aircraft production to [[Lockheed Corporation|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 remains of the Convair Division were simply closed in 1996. GD's exit from the aviation world was short-lived, and in 1999 the company acquired [[Gulfstream Aerospace]]. The Pomona operation was closed shortly after its sale to Hughes Aircraft.

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 destroyer|guided-missile destroyers]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-08-18-fi-36555-story.html|title=General Dynamics to Buy Bath Iron Works Shipyard : Defense: The purchase would give the contractor access to $2 billion in orders for Navy ships.|date=1995-08-18|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US |access-date=2019-09-13}}</ref> 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 [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-09-fi-30651-story.html|title=Defense Giant to Purchase Nassco for $415 Million|date=1998-10-09|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US |access-date=2019-09-13}}</ref>

Having divested itself of its aviation holdings, GD concentrated on land and sea products. GD 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 is now 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. [[Force Protection Inc|Force Protection, Inc.]] was acquired by General Dynamics Land Systems in November 2011 for $350 million.

===General Dynamics UK===
{{main|General Dynamics UK}}
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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Transatlantic Defence Industrial Relationship: An Audit and Commentary |url=https://www.cna.org/CNA_files/PDF/D0005452.A1.pdf |website=CNA |access-date=3 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=Hugh |title=Protest over Hastings Firm's Links to US Child Detention |url=https://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/news/protest-over-hastings-firms-links-to-us-child-detention/ |access-date=3 September 2020 |work=Hastings Independent |date=30 November 2018}}</ref> In 2001, Computing Devices Canada (CDC) was awarded a contract from the UK [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] to supply tactical communication systems for their [[Bowman (communications system)|Bowman]] program. The work for this was carried out at its new UK headquarters in [[Oakdale, Caerphilly|Oakdale]], [[Wales]], and the company was renamed General Dynamics UK Limited.<ref>{{cite news |title=Defence firm sets sights on 500 jobs |url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/4620006.defence-firm-sets-sights-on-500-jobs/ |access-date=3 September 2020 |work=South Wales Argus |date=22 August 2001}}</ref> {{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.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://generaldynamics.uk.com/about/about-us/ |website=General Dynamics UK |access-date=3 September 2020}}</ref> It is currently responsible for delivering the [[General Dynamics Ajax]] family of armored vehicles, the [[Ocelot (vehicle)|Foxhound]] light protected patrol vehicle and the [[Morpheus (communications system)|Morpheus]] communications system to the UK Ministry of Defence.

===21st century===
[[File:Gulfstream G650 departs Bristol 23rdAug2014 arp.jpg|thumb|In 1999, the company acquired Gulfstream Aerospace. Here, a [[Gulfstream G650]] departs [[Bristol Airport]], England, in 2014.]]
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.<ref>{{cite news|date=4 June 2004|title=BAE outguns US rival with £355m bid for Alvis|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2004/jun/04/themilitary|access-date=30 June 2017}}</ref>

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]], closed in 2004.<ref>''[[The Washington Post]]'', "General Dynamics To Settle Suit For $4 Million", August 19, 2008, p. D4.</ref>

In 2014, the government of Canada announced it had selected the General Dynamics Land Systems subsidiary in [[London, Ontario]], to produce [[LAV-25|Light Armoured Vehicles]] for [[Saudi Arabia]] as part of a $10 billion deal with the [[Canadian Commercial Corporation]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/general-dynamics-canada-wins-10b-deal-with-saudi-arabia-1.2537934|title=General Dynamics Canada wins $10B deal with Saudi Arabia|last=Cudmore|first=James|date=14 February 2014|publisher=CBC News |access-date=13 September 2019}}</ref> The sale has been criticized by political opponents because of the [[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen]].<ref name="Post_union">{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/union-asks-ndp-to-keep-saudi-armoured-vehicles-deal-under-wraps-fearing-significant-job-losses |title=Union asks NDP to keep Saudi armoured vehicles deal 'under wraps', fearing 'significant' job losses |work=Postmedia Network |date=30 September 2015 |access-date=30 September 2015 |author=De Bono, Norman}}</ref><ref name="Globe and Mail 2019-06-20">{{cite news |title=Advocates urge Ottawa to cease sales of military goods to Saudi Arabia amid growing backlash against war in Yemen |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-advocates-urge-ottawa-to-cease-sales-of-military-goods-to-saudi-arabia/ |work=The Globe and Mail |date=20 June 2019 }}</ref> In December 2018, after Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]] suggested Canada might scrap the deal, the company warned that doing so could lead to "billions of dollars in liability" and risk the loss of thousands of jobs.<ref>{{cite news |title=General Dynamics warns Canada: Cancelling Saudi deal would cost billions |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/general-dynamics-saudi-arabia-canada-armoured-vehicles-deal-khashoggi-1.4950565 |publisher=CBC/Radio-Canada |date=18 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/general-dynamics-canada-wins-10b-deal-with-saudi-arabia-1.2537934|title=General Dynamics warns Canada: Canceling Saudi deal would cost billions|last=Ljunggren|first=David|date=17 December 2018|agency=Reuters |publisher=CBC |access-date=13 September 2019}}</ref> Trudeau has since said that while he is critical of Saudi conduct, he cannot simply scrap the deal because "Canada as a country of the rule of law needs to respect its contracts."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://business.financialpost.com/investing/general-dynamics-reports-financial-fallout-with-saudi-arabia-after-khashoggi-killing|title=Tension between Canada and Saudi Arabia is now weighing on an American defence giant's earnings |website=Financial Post|date=2019-02-13|language=en-CA|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418044259/https://business.financialpost.com/investing/general-dynamics-reports-financial-fallout-with-saudi-arabia-after-khashoggi-killing|archive-date=2019-04-18 |access-date=2019-09-13}}</ref> On 30 January 2019, CEO [[Phebe Novakovic]] warned investors that the matter had "significantly impacted" the company's cash flow because Saudi Arabia was nearly $2 billion in arrears on its payments.<ref>{{cite news |title=General Dynamics reports financial fallout with Saudi Arabia |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2019/02/12/general-dynamics-reports-financial-fallout-with-saudi-arabia/ |agency=The Washington Post |work=Press Herald |quote="Our payment issue got caught up in a larger international political issue, diplomatic issue," Novacovik told investors. "While we got some payment last year, those diplomatic contretemps slowed the payment that we otherwise anticipated."}}</ref>

In 2018, General Dynamics acquired information technology services giant [[CSRA (IT services company)|CSRA]] for $9.7 billion, and merged it with GDIT.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/04/03/general-dynamics-completes-csra-acquisition/|title=General Dynamics completes CSRA acquisition|last=Mehta|first=Aaron|date=2018-04-04|website=Defense News|language=en-US |access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref>

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"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.codepink.org/general_dynamics|title=General Dynamics: Divest from War & Prisons |publisher=Code Pink |access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref> due to its IT services contracts with the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|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]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://qz.com/1309460/defense-contractors-like-general-dynamics-are-profiting-from-child-detention-and-you-might-be-too/ |title=US defense contractors profit from child detention—and you might, too |last=Fernholz |first=Tim |work=Quartz |access-date=2018-06-20 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article213385464.html |title=Job postings offer clues to inner workings of facilities for immigrant children |work=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]] |access-date=2018-06-20 |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gd.com/en/about-gd/faqs|title=Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=General Dynamics |language=en |access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=MarEx |title=U.S. Navy Places Advance Order for 10 New Destroyers |url=https://maritime-executive.com/article/u-s-navy-places-advance-order-for-10-new-destroyers |website=maritime-executive.com |access-date=30 September 2018}}</ref>

Former [[United States Secretary of Defense|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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://politi.co/2OJGryI|title=Jim Mattis rejoining General Dynamics board of directors|last=Feldscher|first=Jacqueline|website=Politico|language=en |access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref>

In September 2020, General Dynamics announced a strategic counter-drone partnership, providing General Dynamics' global network with access to [[Dedrone Holdings|Dedrone's]] complete drone detection and defeat technology.<ref>[https://uasweekly.com/2020/09/04/general-dynamics-mission-systems-and-dedrone-enter-strategic-partnership/ "General Dynamics Mission Systems and Dedrone Enter Strategic Partnership"] ''UAS Weekly''. Retrieved September 24, 2020.</ref>

In December 2020, the board of directors for General Dynamics announced a regular quarterly dividend of $1.10, payable on February 5, 2021.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=General Dynamics Board Declares Dividend|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/general-dynamics-board-declares-dividend-301185056.html|access-date=2020-12-27|publisher=PR Newswire|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=General Dynamics Board Declares Dividend|url=https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_business/general-dynamics-board-declares-dividend/article_0fa2ec3b-7fe2-5df5-813b-077613b6640f.html|access-date=2020-12-27|publisher=WFMZ |language=en}}</ref>

On December 26, 2020, General Dynamics confirmed that their business division General Dynamics Land Systems was awarded a $4.6 billion contract by the U.S. Army for M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams main battle tanks.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-21|title=General Dynamics Unit Gets $4B Army Contract to Produce Modern Battle Tanks|url=https://www.govconwire.com/2020/12/general-dynamics-unit-gets-4b-army-contract-to-produce-modern-battle-tanks/|access-date=2020-12-27|language=en-US}}</ref>

According to a report by [[Reuters]], General Dynamics was the primary contractor for a United States military-run [[Propaganda in the United States|propaganda]] campaign to spread disinformation about the [[Sinovac Biotech|Sinovac]] Chinese [[COVID-19]] vaccine, including using fake social media accounts to spread the disinformation that the Sinovac vaccine contained pork-derived ingredients and was therefore ''[[haram]]'' under [[Sharia|Islamic law]].<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Bing |first=Chris |last2=Schechtman |first2=Joel |date=June 14, 2024 |title=Pentagon Ran Secret Anti-Vax Campaign to Undermine China during Pandemic |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-covid-propaganda/ |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> The campaign primarily targeted people in the [[Philippines]] and used a social media [[hashtag]] for "China is the virus" in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]].<ref name=":6" /> The campaign ran from the spring of 2020 to mid-2021.<ref name=":6" /> In 2024, General Dynamics IT was awarded a $493 million contract by The Pentagon.<ref name=":6" /> According to an unnamed source cited by Reuters, a military audit of General Dynamics's work on the project concluded that the company had engaged in sloppy [[tradecraft]] and took inadequate precautions to conceal the origins of the fake accounts created for the campaign.<ref name=":6" />

General Dynamics' [[Israel–United States military relations|supply of weapons to Israel]] in the [[Gaza war]] has led to protests at facilities in [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts]]; [[Lincoln, Nebraska]]; [[Saco, Maine]]; [[New London, Connecticut]]; and [[Garland, Texas]]. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Bellow |first=Heather |date=2023-10-20 |title=Activists protest General Dynamics in Pittsfield over defense contracts and the Israel-Hamas war |url=https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/pittsfield-general-dynamics-israel-hamas-palestinians-war-berkshire-communists-activists/article_ec204d1c-6ee4-11ee-8e1e-cb6121da994b.html |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=The Berkshire Eagle |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pro-Palestinian Protest Outside General Dynamics |url=https://www.dailynebraskan.com/diversity_inclusion/gallery-pro-palestinian-protest-outside-general-dynamics/collection_58f97ac4-804e-11ee-b0a8-87a8bd3c9d5f.html |work=Daily Nebraskan |date=November 10, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Portland City Council unanimously backs resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza |url=https://mainemorningstar.com/briefs/portland-city-council-unanimously-backs-resolution-calling-for-ceasefire-in-gaza/ |work=Maine Morning Star |date=January 4, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 4, 2024 |title=Arrests at anti-nuke protest with Oppenheimer cutouts at Electric Boat in New London |url=https://www.theday.com/police-fire-reports/20240304/anti-nuke-protest-leads-to-arrests-at-eb-in-new-london/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=www.theday.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Choi |first=Hojun |date=2024-03-07 |title=Pro-Palestinian demonstrators arrested at Garland facility for aerospace and defense firm |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2024/03/07/pro-palestinian-demonstrators-arrested-at-garland-facility-for-aerospace-and-defense-firm/ |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=Dallas News |language=en}}</ref>