He's right AWACS see the big picture with radar ranging depending on the platform 250-400+ miles. They see the known or unknown target aircraft. AWACS vector the friendly planes which I would say on average have about a 60-80 mile radar range, to the area of where the bad guys are. The fighters then use their electronic suits to figure out if they are hostile or not. If the unknown planes are hostile then they would be dealt with appropriately, if time of war shot down if encroaching airspace asked to leave and then escalated from there.
The RAF's British Aerospace Nimrod AEW had air to air missiles but those were the short range AIM-9 Sidewinder family, those would have been the woops a few bad guys got through missiles, good luck Nimrod guys. Some P-3s in some other air arms are able to carry Sidewinders, but no long distance stuff.