“USA-224 - the first of these two - was completed by Lockheed US$ 2 billion under the initial budget estimate, and two years ahead of schedule”

That’s impressive.

Depends if the initial budget and schedule were accurate, or massively padded.

Under promise, over deliver.

Sure, but have you ever heard of a procurement project where this happened? At least to me it seems that you always hear delays and cost overruns of the type of F35, Zumwalt, Osprey. The usual explanation is that this is the natural outcome of a cost-plus modus operandi. How can a multi-billion project end up 2 billion below budget and 2 years ahead of schedule. We are talking about the same manufacturer that brought us the F-35 after all...

My experience with highway construction is that a lot depends on the highway inspectors (who are employed by the highway department, not by the firm doing the construction). If they're lazy the highway will seem fine on day one, but will be quite rough within a year. If they're diligent it will remain smooth for a long time.

So, it seems possible that the military bureaucracy doesn't do a very good job of supervising the work done by armaments manufacturers, while the spy-satellite bureaucracy does an admirable job. I'm surprised!

Does it make the news when a project is on time and budget?