Why stronger carriers would not guarantee strikes on Argentina

Would Buccaneers from Malta-class carriers strike Argentine mainland air bases during the Falklands War?

Probably not, because widening the war could cost American support; the carriers would more likely enforce a distant air-defence barrier around the islands.

A larger carrier force would not automatically attack air bases on the Argentine mainland. Such strikes could widen the conflict and jeopardize United States support, making the decision political rather than purely operational. Hawkeyes and Phantoms would instead sustain a defensive barrier around the Falklands and engage Argentine aircraft as they approached the islands. The distinction separates what naval aviation could physically do from what coalition diplomacy would allow.