Government isn't just a research funder in phase one - it's also the constructor (on occasion it may pay private contractors to do the building work - but it's still a government project).
This is true regardless if you're a rich a country or a small country.

The first real computers were building-sized monsters like ENIAC and EDVAC - both built by and for the government. The first real power station - built by government (designed by Edison with private partners - but government did the paying and management - and critically used it's power of eminent domain to acquire the needed land and easements). The first planes that went beyond "experimental prototypes" were built by the government for World War 1.
It's a pretty damn near universal pattern. First government builds and uses the tech, then corporations build it to sell to government and each other. Only after a long time can it be miniaturized and made cheaper and sold to the public. Never by any of the companies from before.