Israeli defense companies signed $6.3 billion worth of new export contracts for weapons, munitions, technologies, and equipment during 2008 and $20.3 billion in 2005-08, according to the Ministry of Defense. The figures are much higher than U.S. Congress estimates, according to a report in Defense News, and makes Israel the world's third largest defense exporter after the U.S. and Russia.
The Ministry of Defense figures differ markedly from those cited in a report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service which provides information, analyses, and other services to representatives and senators.