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Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, who revealed the B-21 designation for the winning Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) design from Northrop Grumman in February, announced the name at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, this morning. The name honors Doolittle’s Raiders, the Army Air Forces bomber group that launched a surprise attack against Japan on April 18, 1942—flying B-25 bombers off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. The last surviving member of Doolittle’s Raiders, Lt. Colonel Richard Cole, joined James on stage for the naming announcement, along with the two airmen who had submitted the name.

On its current course, the B-21—which bears a distinct resemblance to Northrop Grumman’s last long-range stealth bomber, the B-2 Spirit—will not reach “initial capability” until the mid-2020s. Based on well-established technology, the Raider is supposed to be a more modest investment for the Air Force than previous major aircraft programs (such as the B-2, the F-22 Falcon, and F-35 Lightning—all of which ran far over budget). The initial development contract is for $21 billion, with a purchase of up to 100 aircraft to follow at a fly-away cost of $511 million each (based on Northrop’s bid). Even at its reduced cost, the program forced the Air Force to reduce the number of F-35s it plans to purchase in order to operate within budget constraints.