Harvey Point Defense Testing Activity

The Harvey Point Defense Testing Activity facility, owned by the Department of Defense, is located on a peninsula in Perquimans County, North Carolina, along the Albemarle Sound, near the city of Hertford, NC. It was established in World War II as Naval Air Station Harvey Point, an operating base for sea planes conducting anti-submarine surveillance off the Atlantic coast. A close-by naval facility, Naval Air Station Weeksville, served as a blimp base during and after World War II.

To comply with various procurement regulations, the Department of the Navy holds the title to and budgetary responsibility for the facility. Agencies such as the ATF, CIA, and FBI have used the facility for complex training relating to overseas counterterrorism and asset-protection training.

Its sister facility is Camp Peary.

History
The point was originally occupied during the 1670s by the Harvey Family, including North Carolina's first native-born governor, Thomas Harvey -- hence the name "Harvey Point."

World War II
Courthouse records indicate that in November 1942 the United States Navy purchased the point, roughly 1200 acre, for $41,751. The Navy then constructed an air station on the property for use during World War II. During World War II Harvey Point was used as a seaplane base.

After the war, the naval air station was deactivated until 1958 when the Navy announced Harvey Point would serve as the testing grounds for the new Martin P6M Seamaster, an experimental jet-powered long-range seaplane bomber. The project was cancelled in August 1959 when the Navy determined the aircraft wasn't successful enough for it to continue providing support for the program. Then, in 1961, the Navy returned to the property and announced that the property was closed to the public; it has remained that way ever since.

Current use
Specialty military air operations are located at this facility, as the installation has two usable landing fields and plans for a third. Through a NOTAM order issued by the FAA on behalf of several agencies, a permanent "no-fly zone" exists within 25 radial miles of the facility due to the ordnance testing that occurs at the facility and the related hazards that exist for general aviation. A significant portion of the air space within the Albemarle Sound is jointly administered and monitored by the FAA and the US Navy. Harvey Point is also used for CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) paramilitary and counter-terrorism courses that involve high explosives and ballistics. The explosives are used to simulate terrorist bombs and can be heard for miles in the surrounding communities. It was also used by DEVGRU to train for the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, in a scale mockup of his secret compound.