2004 - Defense exports reached $3.6b

According to Major General (res.) Yossi Ben-Hanan, head of the defense export aid department at the Israeli Defense Ministry, Israel's defense sector exports reached last year $3.6 billion.
 
Ben-Hanan pointed out that this was the sector's second best performance ever and an increase of $500 million over last year's export figure. (Defense exports reached $4.1 billion in 2002.)
 
He also noted that Israeli exports of military goods account last year for 10% of the global trade in weaponry, thus making Israel one of the five leading nations in the world in arms sales. Defense Ministry's forecasts, however, that Israel's military exports will total a more moderate $2.5 – $2.7 billion for 2005.
 
Defense Ministry's figures also show that India was last year the number one customer of Israeli-manufactured arms.
 
In 2004, new contracts were signed between the Indian Defense Ministry and Israeli defense companies valued at $1.7 billion. Of this, $1.1 billion came from India's purchase of three early warning Phalcon planes from Israel Aicraft Industries and its subsidiary Elta Electronics.
India's defense forces, according to the Defense Ministry, also bought fighting equipment and weaponry systems from Israeli firms valued at $500 million.