Well, I think the idea is that if the F-22's and F-35's have to under the worst conditions, they can do the job without support aircraft like the AWACS if need be. However, if you have an AWACS, and jammer support, all the easier for stealth aircraft to work. You can try this in Command for yourself. I'm beginning to see why the U.S. Navy wants those EA-18G's to work with the F-35's. The Growlers can jam a wide spectrum of SAM radar threats, but if the need arises, planes with AESA radar could jam x-band fire control radars to help them survive the threat.
This Boeing graphic below for the Advanced SuperHornet seems to imply the AESA of the Hornet is capable of jamming fire control radars, while the Growler's support them over a much broader spectrum of radar threats on page 18.
http://www.boeing.com/assets/pdf/bds/mediakit/2013/advanced_super_hornet/advanced_super_hornet_media_brief.pdf
Like NakedWeasel mentioned, these new radars are supposedly pretty hard to detect, and there's a lot of electronics sorcery that can be done with them, as well as ECM and offensive jamming techniques. If I know exactly what my own plane's radar cross section is, then I can send out a low power pulse from the radar with such a short emit time that it most likely won't be detected. And as I get closer to a threat, that same radar could reduce it's power more to maintain it's ability to remain undetected for example. I'm just going on a public example I found which demonstrated a Low Probability of Intercept anti-ship cruise missile radar system which reduced it's power as it got closer to a ship target to minimize detection of it's radar emitting.
You can read about the case study here on an LPI Anti ship radar seeker. Sort of makes you wonder if we don't already have something like this in upgraded Harpoon missiles for example.
http://books.google.com/books?id=K_T4M-nA6JYC&pg=PA301&lpg=PA301&dq=LPI+radar+anti+ship+cruise+missile&source=bl&ots=uPMBKAl8_H&sig=nuLX-dUhRDORQnTDo8WCHmWVgzk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=x79ZU6HNAYiwyATJsYLoAQ&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=LPI%20radar%20anti%20ship%20cruise%20missile&f=false
Regarding jamming and AESA there's a hint in this article:
http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/military/Jammer-Next_70621.html
The podded NGJ system is expected to employ multiple electronically scanned arrays, consisting of thousands of transmit/receive modules, that combined will provide a wider field of regard than currently available on F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers and Air Force F-22 Raptors equipped with active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radars. Electronically scanned radars have an effective field of regard of about 120 degrees for each planar array.
“The bringing of a broadband, electronically steerable antenna set is really the tipping point within this picture,” said Eduardo Palacio, ITT Electronic Systems vice president of programs. “[It] provides the agility in (radar) beam, not only in steering but in beam shaping and the number of beams that makes this a truly capable system over many, many years to come.”
The competing industry teams have been reserved in discussing their antenna concepts for the NGJ. However, Palacio added, “It’s safe to say that there’s no such thing in today’s technology as a single array that can cover the totality of frequency spectrum that needs to be covered, so everyone will build multiple arrays to fulfill the mission.”
Regarding some of the interesting capabilites of AESA radar:
Both the Super Hornet and the Growler are enabled by the APG-79 AESA radar. Raytheon recently delivered the 200th radar to the fleet, and the Navy has logged 150,000 flight hours with the APG-79, Darrah said. “As a radar, it’s a force multiplier,” he said. “What we’re able to do is use the AESA radar to designate, via SAR (synthetic aperture radar) map, precision coordinates that are then passed through Link 16 to non AESA-equipped aircraft.
“So what we’re doing is flying mixed sections,” Darrah explained. “I can have one AESA-equipped Super Hornet in a section of six aircraft, five of which can be legacy airplanes. I can use the precision capability of the AESA radar and Link 16 to send data offboard to the non AESA-equipped aircraft, and they’re able to deliver Joint Direct Attack Munitions or precision weapons to those targets without ever having to use their radars. They can be radar silent during this whole time.”
Regarding AESA on ships:
http://news.usni.org/2014/01/17/navys-next-generation-radar-future-electronic-attack-abilities
Airborne AESA radars such as the Northrop Grumman APG-77 found on the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor already have an electronic attack capability. In the future, the Lockheed F-35 and Boeing F/A-18E/F and EA-18G will also receive a similar capability for the Northrop APG-81 and Raytheon APG-79 radars.
Similarly, all the contenders for the Navy’s Next Generation Jammer program use new Gallium Nitride-based (GaN) transmit-receiver modules, which are rapidly succeeding the older Gallium Arsenide-based systems found on the aforementioned radars.
The Navy having adopted high-power GaN based AESA radar for the Flight III ships, can leverage those technologies to use the destroyer’s radar to perform electronic attacks.
With the precise beam steering enabled by the AESA array, it would be possible for the array to attack airborne and surface target using tightly directed beams of high-powered radio waves. Potentially, such a capability would add to the Burke’s air and ballistic missile defense capabilities by blinding enemy aircraft, ships and incoming missiles.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/fa-18ef-to-use-aesa-as-jammer-208213/
F/A-18E/F Block 2 Super Hornet is set to become the first fighter to use its active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for electronic attack, with a planned software upgrade to allow its array of transmit/receive (T/R) modules to be used as a powerful directional jammer.
Under a "sensor integration" plan being drawn up, the Raytheon APG-79 AESA will be linked to the Raytheon ALR-67 radar warning receiver (RWR) via the fighter's fibre-optic network switch. The radar's ground mapping capability will then be used to pinpoint emitters detected by the RWR.
"This will allow us to begin single-ship geolocation of emitters," says Capt BD Gaddis, US Navy F/A-18 programme manager. The F/A-18E/F's BAE Systems ALQ-214 electronic countermeasures suite will also be integrated so the aircraft can jam emitters. "We will put the -214 jamming signal through the AESA T/R modules to put power on to the emitter," he says.
Although the capability has been widely discussed, it appears the Block 2 Super Hornet will be the first aircraft able to use its AESA for electronic attack. Rival radar manufacturer Northrop Grumman says its APG-77(V)1 and APG-81 AESAs for the Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35, respectively, will have the capability, but it is not in currently funded plans.
Funding will determine when the sensor integration upgrade takes place, with the capability planned for the budget cycle beginning in fiscal year 2010. The USN is now selecting F/A-18E/F upgrades for funding beginning in FY08, Gaddis says, with candidates including an infrared search-and-track sensor; high off-boresight capability for the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile; datalinks for the AIM-9X air-to-air missile and JSOW stand-off weapon; night vision capability for the JHMCS helmet-mounted display; and an AESA electronic counter-countermeasures upgrade.
These black projects are amazing to think about, unfortunately and understandibly very difficult to get real info on, we only have hints from the brochures and such for public consumption.
But given the hints above in the articles, it seems the AESA radar systems have some sort of capability to jam using various techniques.
