Carriers are more of a psychological force projection than a physical one for adversaries such as China. No nation dare attack a carrier strike group because of

Carriers are more of a psychological force projection than a physical one for adversaries such as China. No nation dare attack a carrier strike group because of the power behind the response if something were to happen. They are a "I'm not touching you" kind of a game at that level. A way for American to claim physical space for awhile and back up diplomatic rhetoric. I don't think anyone in the pentagon would be foolish enough to pit f/a 18s against modern missile defenses. For less well equipped armies they are used as a blunt instrument as in Syria, Iraq etc. Just so we're clear, only the most advanced countries have ASBM technology, it does not apply to many.