And using active radars on AWACS makes you harder to detect? Radars are so poorly modelled that AWACS has the same/almost the same capability to detect smaller targets as fighters. Add to this that fighters have omnidirectional sensors and are much faster than AWACS (like some sneaky bastard just sent an AAM in your direction and you have to "run away, run away!") and you have a winner. I'm using AWACS only near airfields - sending them on patrol not farther than a mile. So when something actually will sneak on it, I'm just ordering it to land, AWACS accelerates to Mach 3-4 in vertical dive and lands in about 10-20 seconds.
Actually I'm usually building traps like this: one fighter on max alt with radar on, and 50 miles ahead few pairs of fighters on passives. As AI is stupid it will send fighters straight to the active emission source. Then it's a matter of IR detection (send your best IR detectors first) and you have a shooting gallery.