"You don't spin up this kind of skyward muscle just to flex," said one observer.

Brett Wilkins Jun 16, 2025

Flight-tracking websites showed dozens of Air Force aerial refueling planes departing from military bases in the United States and heading to Europe on Sunday, fueling speculation of direct U.S. involvement in the widening Israeli-Iranian war.

Military-focused news sites reported that around 30 U.S. Air Force KC-135R and KC-46A tankers were identified by flight-tracking software in what The Times of Israelcalled an “unprecedented mass deployment” to Europe.

  • null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    3·
    17 hours ago

    Yeah. It feels that way. What defines a world war anyway? Is it just when “most” countries become engaged in a major conflict?

    • eagleeyedtiger@lemmy.nzEnglish
      1·
      6 hours ago

      I assume most nations of the world taking part is correct. According to Wikipedia WW2 is considered to have started after the invasion of Poland and subsequently UK and France declaring war on Germany, however there were other events beforehand:

      The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in the aftermath of World War I and the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan. Key events preceding the war included Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the Spanish Civil War, the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, and Germany’s annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland. World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland, after which the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany.

      Considering how much the world has changed since then with advances in technology etc., I think WW3 will look very different if it happens.