Exports by Turkey's defense and aviation sector rose 77 percent to $197 million in July, the Defense and Aerospace Industry Exporters' Association (SSI) announced yesterday.

Among all sectors, the defense and aviation sector showed the best performance in terms of growing exports, according to a press release by the group.

The sector's exports from January to July also rose 21.8 percent to $1.1 billion, it said.

Latif Aral Alis, the group's head, said: "In the value-added defense and aviation industry, which has strategic importance, we are reaping the fruits of our research and development (R&D) and investments in innovation."

Turkey cannot reach its targets without value-added production and investments in high technology, R&D, and innovation, he added.

"We continue our investments without slowing down and we know we will accomplish great things," he stressed.