The craft is expected to undergo two years of testing before being placed in service with the U.S. Navy. If tests are successful, future craft of this type may be armed and used for anti-submarine and counter-mine duties, operating at a cost of $15,000–20,000 per day, a fraction of the cost of a destroyer at $700,000 per day (in 2015, );ACTUV Sea Trials Set for Early 2016 - Science.DoDlive.mil, 9 November 2015 it could operate with Littoral Combat Ships, becoming an extension of the LCS ASW module. Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Work said that if weapons are added to the ship, a human would always remotely make the decision to use lethal force.
