No US government research project aims to be under budget. Money is viewed as a finite expiring resource and there's every incentive to avoid your contractors f

No US government research project aims to be under budget. Money is viewed as a finite expiring resource and there's every incentive to avoid your contractors from returning ceiling to the government. I would not consider DARPA work to be low budget. DARPA programs are very typically in the $50 million range and program resources are split up between multiple performers. Sometimes larger program bets are made, especially in hot areas of research or programs where there are large integration costs.