At the start of WWII the Japanese Navy outnumbered the US Navy in Ships and planes, The Japanese Zero outclassed the US Navy's primary fighter the F4F in every category. Early engagements between Zeros and F4Fs were only won by some American pilots by their ingenuity and adaptation to combat conditions not by the quality of the aircraft. If it had not been for the luck of decrypting Japanese communications and the also luck of finding the Japanese fleet at Midway the early war could have gone very badly for the US.
The Japanese Navy never fully recovered after Midway. And Japan could not out manufacture the US. The subsequent F5F Hellcat and F4U Corsair vastly out matched the Zero in speed and durability in combat.
Modern carriers can operate many many miles away from their intended target due to in-flight refueling. Anti-missile technology is vastly more superior today. Those who discount carrier effectiveness do not understand how they are deployed and used.
Regarding "powerful enemies" today the only one close are the Chinese. They they do not have anything close to a valid carrier based multi-purpose aircraft. They are currently using a repurposed Russian design that is a very poor match for current US carrier based fighters. Chinese aircraft design is many years behind the US. (Unless they are successful is stealing designs from us which I would not doubt under this current administration)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
