ISTANBUL, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The export of Turkey's defense and aviation sector is increasingly expanding with growing investments in research and development, the Turkish Defense and Aviation Industry Exporters Association (SSI) said Wednesday.

The sector achieved an export of 197 million U.S. dollars in July, up 77 percent year on year, according to an SSI report.

The export of the industry increased by 21.8 percent during the first seven months of this year to hit 1.1 billion dollars compared to the same period in 2017.

"It wouldn't be possible to produce new products which would have high added-value unless we expand our investments in innovation and research and development," Latif Aral Alis, chairman of the board of directors of the SSI, said in a press release.

Alis also highlighted the importance of using high technology as a valuable tool to increase the export of the industry.

"With this awareness, we will continue our investments in national and domestic defense and aviation industry," he added.

Also on Wednesday, the Turkish Exporters' Assembly revealed that the country's total export in the first seven months of 2018 increased 7 percent to 96.3 billion dollars, while the largest increase in July was seen in the defense and aviation sector.