for sure, I find most of the time science reporting actually makes it harder to understand what the tech does rather than explain it

RF is still RF, the only difference between what they're shooting into the water to detect subs and what you're shooting into your hot pockets is output power and frequency. It's still radio detection and ranging, just at a frequency not typically used for it. Microwave frequencies are used for what one would consider to be typical radar applications, while extremely low frequency would be better suited for communications.