Boeing has secured a $2.8 billion contract from the U.S. Space Force to enhance strategic satellite communications capabilities. The contract involves the development and production of two satellites, with options for two additional ones, as part of the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications $(ESS)$ program. This initiative aims to deliver resilient space-based nuclear command, control, and communications for the President and joint strategic forces worldwide. The ESS program seeks to modernize and secure satellite communications connectivity, crucial for Presidential National Voice Conferencing and the nation's nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) enterprise. The new satellites will offer increased capacity, flexibility, reliability, and resilience, surpassing the capabilities of the current strategic communications satellites in orbit. Since 2020, Boeing has been working on technical maturation and risk reduction for this program under a rapid prototyping contract with the U.S. Space Force.