How fighter cover and radar could change Force Z's fate

Would Ark Royal's fighters simply have been overwhelmed if the carrier had accompanied Force Z?

Even a small fighter force could disrupt the unescorted Japanese bombers, with radar and reconnaissance adding warning.

The objection assumes that carrier fighters would be overwhelmed by Japanese opposition. The bombers attacking Force Z had no fighter escort, so even a small defending force could disrupt their attacks. A carrier's radar and reconnaissance aircraft would also offer earlier warning. Japanese bombers were operating near their range limit and had to use individual G3M and G4M aircraft for scouting. A suggestion that extra escorts could prevent the submarine sighting is qualified by the claim that its report did not reach aircraft already airborne.