Attacking an AWACS is very much on the table, it's just hard. It's like being a battleship captain saying "well, if we sink the bloody carrier then the problem

Attacking an AWACS is very much on the table, it's just hard. It's like being a battleship captain saying "well, if we sink the bloody carrier then the problem's solved, right?"--you're not wrong but you're vastly underestimating the difficulty. AWACS radar is so strong they can be (and should!) very very very far away from anything that could possibly reach out and touch them, and actually attacking an AWACS will draw so much attention and fire that the attack is probably doomed to failure unless the air force in question is enormously overextended (very possible). I suppose you could use it to divert attention while you did something else, but it'll be a costly diversion. Now if you did get close to one, considering that the popular ones are visibly repurposed airliners they would probably go down pretty easy. But that's a little like saying "I can sink your aircraft carrier with my 16" gun" without the proviso that "... as long as you let me get way too close first".