Quote: If the Chicom agents actually get a woody from going over a 32 year old American ship-do we really care?
The F-15 and F-16 are 30-35 year old planes BUT have extensive refits and new avionics etc. The b-52 was designed in 1952 I believe. Probaly the same with the carrier.
Yes, we do care.
There is a reason that the US is the only country that has been able to produce modern Carriers in numbers that cant be matched by other nations.
Any potential enemy of the US would love the opportunity to discover the construction principles behind a ship of that size that can move and maneuver, and carry the weight of an AirWing within its hull. It isn't that other nations would not love to have a fleet of Carriers, its just that they don't know how to build them in a way that wont require constant maintenance and repair.
Hell yes, don't give them ANY technology, no matter how old. Never help your enemy.
For the same reason they purchase the rusting hulk of a Soviet Aircraft carrier -- to learn the design principles. There are a lot of tradeoffs in designing such a complex ship. The USN has the longest experience and the PLAN commanders would assume that we have long since optimized the design of large Carriers.