Why?
It shows out our enemies that in a war of attrition the Navy can’t replace it’s ships. That’s why. IT is the worst message that could be sent. THE USA SHOULD MAKE ALL OF ITS MILITARY EQUIPMENT. ALL OF IT. 100% ALL OF IT.
Meets our specs, we can monitor it’s construction for shortcuts, we can add technology we may not want Spain or anyone else to know about, and it will use American workers instead of Spanish. What I don’t understand is why can’t we design our own ships of the line anymore?