The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider

Background

According to Wikipedia:

The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is a heavy bomber aircraft under development by Northrop Grumman. As part of the Long Range Strike Bomber program (LRS-B), it is to be a long-range, stealth strategic bomber for the United States Air Force capable of delivering thermonuclear weapons. A request for proposal to develop the aircraft was issued in July 2014.

The Air Force plans to purchase 80–100 LRS-B aircraft at a cost of $550 million each (2010 dollars). A development contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman in October 2015. A media report states that the bomber could also be used as an intelligence gatherer, battle manager, and interceptor aircraft.

In May of 2016, the Air Force concluded a submission contest to name the newly developed B-21 bomber.  So, in September 10, 2016, I filed an FOIA request for a list/compilation of all the names submitted to the B-21.  Although I wasn’t the first to request the names, the Air Force originally denied access to the list. An appeal was filed (and later was accepted) for the list’s release, and as a result, the Air Force released the list to me as well.

Below, you will find the names submitted. Some of them – will make you laugh out loud!

Declassified Documents

 Declassified List of B-21 Name Submissions by the Public [64 Pages, 0.9MB] – There were 4,600 entries submitted in response to the B-21 Name Contest announced by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James during the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium in February 2016. The contest was open to Active, Guard, Reserve and civilian Airmen, along with their dependents. There were 2,120 unique names, many names had multiple entries is attached.

Follow The Black Vault on Social Media: