A suspicious vehicle forced the closure of the main gate at California‘s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday.
Base officials said personnel from the 30th Security Forces Squadron responded to the vehicle around 10.10am local time (1.10pm ET), detaining one person at the scene for questioning.
‘As a precautionary measure to ensure public safety, a military working dog team and 30th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel were dispatched to assess the vehicle,’ base officials said.
Highway 1 in the surrounding area was also closed as authorities moved to secure the scene.
Officials said that as of 12pm, no threats or explosives had been identified.
Vandenberg Space Force Base is the primary US testing site for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), where unarmed Minuteman III missiles are regularly launched to maintain the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
The base conducted over 70 launches in 2025, with capacity growing toward more than 100 annually.
It is also a West Coast spaceport responsible for launching satellites into polar orbit for the US Space Force, NASA and commercial partners like SpaceX.
A suspicious vehicle forced the closure of the main gate at California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday morning, triggering a rapid security response
Pictured is the main gate where the suspicious vehicle was found
Reports said a bomb squad and military working dog team were immediately dispatched.
‘State Route 1 is currently CLOSED between California Blvd and Timberlane at the Vandenberg Space Force Base main gate for an unknown duration,’ the California Highway Patrol Santa Barbara said in a statement.
‘Please avoid the area and use alternate routes. Updates will be provided when available. Drive safe.’
Key units at the base include Space Delta 5, 21st Space Operations Squadron, the 576th Flight Test Squadron and tenant agencies like NASA and the Missile Defense Agency
In recent years, Space Force units have played a growing role in military operations, providing space-based intelligence, navigation and communications support during conflicts involving Iran and other adversaries.
The base is considered one of the most critical testing and launch sites in the US, making any security alert there a matter of national attention.
A critical test launch of a nuclear-capable missile took place there on March 3, sending an ICBM on a 4,200-mile journey in about 22 minutes before reaching its target near Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
The test evaluated the missile’s multiple reentry vehicles, which are designed to increase effectiveness and help the weapon overcome enemy defenses.
The ICBM is designed to hit any target worldwide in just 30 minutes after launch. Pictured is the base’s latest launch on March 3
In late October 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the US military to resume nuclear weapons testing, saying the move was necessary to keep pace with alleged testing by Russia and China.
A separate ICBM testing then took place the following month.
The Minuteman III arsenal forms one leg of the US’s nuclear deterrent, designed to be launched only in response to a nuclear attack by an enemy nation.
The weapon is designed to hit any target worldwide within 30 minutes after launch.
Iran is approximately 7,600 miles from California, while Russia is about 6,000 and China is around 6,300 miles. Trump has said repeatedly that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
He claimed to have ‘obliterated’ Tehran’s nuclear program in strikes last June, but said this week that the nation had attempted to rebuild it.
‘Just imagine how emboldened this regime would be if they ever had and actually were armed with nuclear weapons as a means to deliver their message,’ he said on earlier this month. However, Iran does not have a nuclear arsenal.
