Question: Who planned the strategic bomber which is meant to replace the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration?
Context: The AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) is a low observable standoff air-launched cruise missile developed in the United States.  It is a large, stealthy long-range weapon of the 2,000 pounds (910 kg) class.  The missile's development began in 1995, but a number of problems during testing delayed its introduction into service until 2009.  As of 2014, the JASSM has entered foreign service in Australia, Finland, and Poland.  An extended range version of the missile, the AGM-158B JASSM-ER (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range), entered service in 2014. The 2037 Bomber is the unofficial name given to a heavy strategic bomber planned by the United States Air Force, intended to serve as a replacement for the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit.  The aircraft is projected to enter service in 2037 as a stealth, supersonic, long-range bomber aircraft with capability for unmanned operation. The Avro 730 was a planned Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft and strategic bomber that was being developed by Avro Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF).  It had been originally envisioned as a very high-speed aircraft to perform aerial reconnaissance missions, conforming with the requirements of Air Ministry Specification OR.330.  Avro subsequently decided to modify the design of the proposed 730 in order to accommodate its arming with nuclear weapons; this change therefore meant that the type would be able to perform the nuclear weapons delivery mission as well, which had been called for under Air Ministry Specification RB.156T which sought a high speed reconnaissance-bomber aircraft. The Tupolev PAK DA (or PAK-DA) is a proposed Russian next-generation strategic bomber being developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau.  The PAK DA acronym (ПАК ДА in Russian) stands for перспективный авиационный комплекс дальней авиации ("perspektivnyi aviatsionnyi kompleks dal'ney aviatsii") literally meaning "prospective aviation complex for long-range aviation".  The PAK DA was planned to be a new stealth strategic bomber and is expected to enter service in 2025–30, with the first aircraft previously planned for delivery in 2020, but delivery will likely be after 2023. The British "Victory Bomber" was a Second World War design proposal by British inventor and aircraft designer Barnes Wallis while at Vickers-Armstrongs for a large strategic bomber.  This aircraft was to have performed what Wallis referred to as "anti-civil engineering" bombing missions and was to have carried his projected 22000 lb "earthquake bomb" to strategic targets in Germany.  The Victory Bomber was considered to be extremely ambitious, the Royal Air Force (RAF) at that time not yet having introduced four-engine heavy bombers and to give the necessary performance, the Victory Bomber was to have six engines and was highly specialised to its role. The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy penetration strategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses; it is a flying wing design with a crew of two.  The bomber can deploy both conventional and thermonuclear weapons, such as eighty 500 lb -class (Mk 82) JDAM Global Positioning System-guided bombs, or sixteen 2400 lb B83 nuclear bombs.  The B-2 is the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration. The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is a heavy bomber under development by Northrop Grumman.  As part of the Long Range Strike Bomber program (LRS-B), it is to be a very long-range, stealth strategic bomber for the United States Air Force capable of delivering conventional or thermonuclear weapons. The Air Armament Center (AAC) was an Air Force Material Command (AFMC) center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, responsible for development, acquisition, testing, and deployment of all air-delivered weapons for the U.S. Air Force.  Weapon systems maintained by the center included the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, High-speed anti-radiation missile, HARM Targeting System, Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, Joint Direct Attack Munition, Miniature Air-Launched Decoy, Sensor Fuzed Weapon, and the Small Diameter Bomb. The Messerschmitt Me 264 was a long-range strategic bomber developed during World War II for the German "Luftwaffe".  It was intended to serve as Germany's main strategic bomber.  The design was later selected as Messerschmitt's competitor in the "Reichsluftfahrtministerium"' s (the German Air Ministry) "Amerika Bomber" programme, which intended to develop a strategic bomber capable of attacking New York City from bases in France or the Azores.  Three prototypes were built, but production was abandoned to allow Messerschmitt to concentrate on fighter production while another design, the Junkers Ju 390, had been selected in its place as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The Long Range Strike Bomber program (LRS-B) is a development and acquisition program to develop a long-range strategic bomber for the United States Air Force, intended to be a heavy-payload stealth aircraft capable of delivering thermonuclear weapons. Initial capability is planned for the mid-2020s.  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 for its B-21 Raider in October 2015.
Answer: United States Air Force