The US Air Force plans to launch new satellites of the AEHF (Advanced Extremely High Frequency) generation, which will be able to provide communications during a nuclear war and are resistant to electronic interference. Popular Mechanics writes about it.
To date, there are four AEHF vehicles in geostationary orbit, two more satellites will be launched in 2019 and 2020, for the creation of which $ 29.8 million has been allocated.
A system of such satellites is capable of sending signals even in a nuclear war, when the atmosphere is filled with charged particles emitting electromagnetic waves. Conventional communications do not work with this "noise", but AEHF technology increases the chances of signal transmission through multiple beams, maintaining a dedicated "hotline" for the White House.
In January 2018, the United States launched a Delta IV launch vehicle with the classified military satellite NROL-47. Another secret satellite, codenamed Zuma, launched on January 7 on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle of the American company Elon Musk SpaceX, did not reach its calculated orbit and crashed when it fell into the ocean.