Yes – seriously . . .

Albeit not James T. Kirk – James A. Kirk — But still, at least from a nerd-perspective, sort of a cool development.

Plus, the ship itself is highly worthy of respect. The USS Zumwalt DDG-1000 is the first of an entirely new class of naval destroyer and also the largest ever built. Designed, in part, for delivering an unprecedented volume of shore bombardment in advance of amphibious invasions, the ship features a 155mm “Advanced Gun System” that fires rocket-propelled warheads with a range of nearly 100 miles. Its stealth-oriented design (per the above picture) also presents a radically different (not to mention seriously intimidating) appearance than previous generations of warships due to its specially engineered radar-deflecting angles, “clean carbon fiber superstructure,” low-slung stature and what the Navy refers to as a “wave piercing hull.” Additionally, despite all that raw size and power, the Zumwalt’s state-of-the-art automation systems will apparently allow the vessel the operate with a crew roughly half the size previously required for earlier destroyers.

The Zumwalt won’t launch until 2015, but one has to imagine Captain Kirk is more than a little fired up about his new assignment. And besides, he’s still got more than enough time to officially change his middle name. Honestly – With a ship like this, doesn’t he at least owe America’s patriotic Star Trek fans one small gesture of appreciation?