Residents in the vicinity of Sandy Hook may hear some loud noises next week as crews from the local naval station conduct security drills.

On May 10-11 Naval Weapons Station Earle will conduct harbor protection exercises in the waters surrounding the Navy's pier in Leonardo.

According to the Navy, the purpose of the off-shore exercises is to "enhance the training and readiness of harbor security forces. The training is not in response to any specific threat but is regularly scheduled."

During the training, the Navy will deploy marked harbor patrol boats. There will also be sentry towers involved. Crews will conduct training using blank ammunition and laser-designing devices. The exercises will primarily take place in Sandy Hook Bay and near NWS Earle's Waterfront Restricted Area.

Navy officials say residents of Leonardo, Atlantic Highlands, Belford, Middltown and visitors to Sandy Hook National Park might hear the noise coming from the blank ammunition.

"As a reminder, the waters surrounding the NWS Earle Pier are a restricted area. The Marine Security Zone is shown on navigational charts for Lower New York Harbor and are patrolled by armed Navy Security Forces. Violators will be prosecuted," the Navy said in a press release Thursday.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

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