FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Defense contractor General Dynamics Corp. reported a 17 percent increase in third-quarter earnings Wednesday as the maker of military hardware, private jets and information technology posted higher sales across its major business units.

The company reported net income of $438 million, or $1.08 per share, for the July-September period compared to a profit of $374 million, or 93 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Revenue rose almost 15 percent to $6.07 billion from $5.3 billion in the year-earlier period.

Maine’s Bath Iron Works, which builds ships for the Navy, is a General Dynamics subsidiary.