NATO shows how an interception is carried out and real examples of intercepted aircraft

On September 12, NATO launched Operation Eastern Sentry in response to the recent Russian drone attack against Poland.

Wave of interceptions of Russian aircraft by Spanish fighters in Lithuania
E-7A Wedgetail, the new radar aircraft chosen by NATO to replace its E-3 Sentry

So far, four countries have sent fighters to NATO's eastern flank as part of this new operation: Denmark (two F-16s), France (three Rafales), Germany (four Eurofighters), and Italy (two F-35As). This Tuesday, NATO's Allied Air Command published a video explaining what the interception missions these fighters will carry out consist of, what their phases are, and also some examples of Russian aircraft intercepted in recent years:

The video includes computer-generated images of various aircraft types. Below, we see an F-35 intercepting two Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighters. All aircraft are depicted without insignia:

In this other computer-generated image, we see the two Su-35s as they would be seen from the F-35 pilot's cockpit. The data we see in light green is what the F-35 pilot would see in his HDMS helmet, which replaces the HUD that usually appears on the fighter's control panel, showing the pilot flight and target information wherever he looks.

Below are some images of actual interceptions that appear in the video, recorded on NATO aircraft missions, likely during the Baltic Air Policing (BAP) operation. In this first image, we see two Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft, a supersonic model equipped with variable-geometry wings. In this case, the interception took place in April 2020:

Below these lines we see a Su-35UB, the two-seat version of the Russian fighter I referred to above, in an interception made in April 2022:

Finally, here we see a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 spy plane intercepted by a Eurofighter in March 2024. As I already indicated here on Tuesday, the Il-20 was one of the aircraft recently intercepted by Spanish Eurofighters from the Vilkas Detachment in Lithuania: