On Friday, General Dynamics (GD 0.28%), announced it has acquired privately held Applied Physical Sciences, the "leading provider of applied research and development services," based in Groton, Conn.

Applied Physical, which works in the fields of acoustics, signal processing, marine hydrodynamics, and electromagnetic, will be incorporated in General Dynamics' submarine-building Electric Boat subsidiary -- also based in Groton. 

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but according to S&P Capital IQ, Applied Physical is a rather small business, with only $14.3 million in annual revenues. As such, its purchase price would not likely be material to General Dynamics, which records in excess of $32.5 billion annually.

Shares of General Dynamics closed at $70.40 Friday, up 0.2% prior to the acquisition's announcement.