For its latest special uniform celebrating the heritage of airpower, the U.S. Air Force Academy football team is looking to the future: the B-21 Raider.
The Academy unveiled the new outfit Aug. 25, replete with the B-21’s lambda wing silhouette and other visual details from the new sixth-generation bomber. The Falcons will wear the uniform Oct. 10 when they welcome Navy to Colorado Springs, Colo.
In keeping with the secrecy around the B-21 and its stealth nature, the new uniforms are minimalist and the Academy provided a relatively short list of details explaining the visual references.
“The uniform draws from the bomber’s distinctive shape, stealth, and advanced technology, with Air Force aviation details woven throughout the design,” Northrop Grumman said in a statement.
The uniform is mostly black, with lettering and numbers rendered in a metallic silver. The helmet has an oversized B-21 silhouette rendered in grey against a camouflage background, plus another silhouette across the back. The silhouette also appears as a shoulder patch, on the thigh of the pants, and on the players’ gloves.
The helmet has “B-21” on the front bumper just above the face mask, and “Northrop Grumman,” the B-21 manufacturer, across the back bumper.
Each of the uniforms features one of three patches on the collarbone: Air Force Materiel Command, Air Force Global Strike Command, and the 412th Test Wing. Those emblems are all on the test B-21s currently being flown out of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Instead of the players’ names on the back, the jerseys will feature either the phrase “Strategic Deterrence” or “Power Projection,” reflecting the B-21’s nuclear and long-range strike missions. “B-21 Raider” will run vertically down both pant legs.
One detail sure to please aviation enthusiasts: red “Remove Before Flight” towels.
This is the 11th edition of the Academy’s Air Power Legacy Series of uniforms, always worn for a game against a rival service academy. Previous versions have touched on every era of Air Force history, from World War II (the Tuskegee Airmen and Doolittle Raiders) to Vietnam (Operation Linebacker II) to the present day (the F-35 and the Space Force).
Air Power Legacy Series
- 2025: F-16
- 2024: Air Force Special Operations Command
- 2023: Doolittle Raiders
- 2022: Space Force
- 2021: B-52 Stratofortress and Operation Linebacker II
- 2020: Tuskegee Airmen
- 2019: C-17 Globemaster III
- 2018: AC-130 Spooky
- 2017: F-35 Lightning II
- 2016: Tiger Shark Teeth nose art
Air Force enters the 2026 season seeking its 22nd Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, awarded to the top service academy. It starts play Sept. 5 against Duquesne, faces Navy on Oct. 10, and takes on Army on Nov. 7.
The B-21, meanwhile, is progressing through testing and is expected to arrive at its first operational base, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., in 2027.