Blake Hall
For $80 billion (that’s what Northrop Grumman will be paid for creating the aircraft) we can all agree: the moniker better be damn good.
To rehash, here’s what you guys sent in as suggestions:
BOONDOGGLE
BIG
EXPENSIVE PAPER WEIGHT
OVERPRICED MECHANICAL GLITCH (OMG)
WHITE ELEPHANT
BAT WINGED HAMBURGER SNATCHER
ANKLE GRABBING TAXPAYER VIOLATION
KNIGHT RIDER
BOOMERANG
TRILLION DOLLAR MACHINE
BLACK ANGEL
MONEY GRABBER
LEFT WING
UNNECESSARY WEAPON
EXPENSIVE TOY
INVISIBLE DEATH
PLUS
GHOST
HOLY CRAP
STINGRAY
SWAMP FOX
SLINGSHOT
FALCON
JUMP STREET
THUMPER
THE PATRIOT
VULCAN
JUSTICE
WASTED
SKY MARSHALL
THE HAMMER
THE ROCKETEER
POINTLESS
RUTHLESS
LOVE SHACK
CHEVRON
BIG BIRD
THE BAT PLANE
ONYX BLADE
A WALK IN THE CLOUDS
RAVEN
GHOST STAR
BRAZILIAN BUTTERFLY
Guess what wasn’t proposed, however?
The land the Pentagon selected.
That’s right.
Want to know what they chose? Don’t you?
Okay.
We won’t tease you any further.
Sit down.
Get comfy.
Take a deep breath.
Ready?
Cool.
Because here it is …
RAIDER
More on the decision to name it after a marauder/former Al Davis employee from Foxtrot Alpha:
The B-21 was designated at the Air Force Association’s national conference in Washington, D.C. Monday. After holding a naming contest seven months ago, they’ve finally picked a winner. Not sure how seriously they took our ideas (but hey I liked Nightwing.)
Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James announced that three servicemen, Lt. Col. Jamie Hernandez, Technical Sgt Derek White and retired Co-Pilot Lt. Dick Cole, actually did win the contest with (apparently) compelling papers on why the B-21 should be named “Raider.”
It’s “B-21” because “first bomber of the 21st century,” by the way. The Secretary did not share any backstory on the “Raider” name at its introduction, but hopefully we’ll hear something more than “sounds cool” in an official capacity soon.
The plane is supposed to begin initial testing in ten years. We’ll see.