Air Force unveils nickname for B-21 bomber: Raider

The B-21 bomber henceforth will be known as the Raider, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said during an address at the Air Force Association’s recent national conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
 
The B-21 Raider is expected to enter operations in the 2020s and is the product of an industry team led by Northrop Grumman Corporation, the prime contractor for the B-21 design, build and delivery project. The stealth bomber will be a long-range strike system that can hit any target worldwide.
 
“The B-21’s name embodies the legacy and power projection of the Air Force’s long-range strike capability," Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems Corporate Vice President and President Tom Vice said.

 "We are proud to partner with the Air Force to deliver a system that is so vital to our national security,” Vice said. “As the only company to ever design, build, deliver and modernize a long-range stealth system, we are committed to delivering the fleet of bombers for the 21st century.”
 
Northrop Grumman is leading a seven-partner team in its work to deliver the bomber, including BAE Systems, GKN Aerospace, Janicki Industries, Orbital ATK, Pratt & Whitney, Rockwell Collins, and Spirit AeroSystems.