[Jim in St. Louis]

http://hamptonroads.com/2012/12/navy...med-enterprise

[Commodore]

The article headline might be a little bit misleading--the next two carriers have already been named, the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS John F. Kennedy--but with some luck, the new USS Enterprise (CVN-80) could be in service by 2025 (or 2027 if the Department of Navy has its way).

She will be the third of the new Ford-class supercarriers, equipped with electric-powered catapults (rather than the current steam-powered system), improved weapons and radar, a more advanced reactor design, as well as a bunch of new automated systems that will enable her to operate with a few hundred fewer crewmembers than current carriers do.

In any case, the Enterprise name will live on.

[martok2112]

All they have to do is slap an "A" onto the ship's CVN number.
Hmmm....not entirely sure I'm crazy about all that automation. An EMP could make that ship even more helpless than ships that don't rely on so much eletronics and electricity. Makes me think of the miniseries of Battlestar Galactica, where the Cylons managed to practically shut down just about the entire Colonial fleet with a cyber attack just before the main physical attack began.

Heh....I could see their chief engineer's first report:

"U.S.S. Enterprise. Shakedown cruise report. I think this new ship was put together by monkeys. She's got a fine engine but, half the doors won't open. And guess who's job it is to make it right?"