u/Elegant-Fisherman555

Two babies and deciding whether to commit to the area long term. Is the school district still worth staying for?

For background, from Europe and lived in a few different areas of the USA, can hands down say this area is the most ‘European’ area I’ve been in, the public transport the free museums the parks and green space. I am well aware that you get what you pay for in taxes having lived previously in red states here in America (Ohio, Nevada). There is a lot of good things about this area and within a few hours of this area.

The school district has been in the news recently for I’d say all the wrong reasons; as a parent that pretty much becomes my only consideration; is the juice still worth the squeeze of living here.

How do other parents feel? Any alternative counties within Maryland? Definitely not Virginia based on the number of shit drivers I see around here with their license plates. Is it a requirement to live in Virginia you have to drive a Nissan Altima in gray with the windows blacked out?

Probably been asked a thousand times. However looking for some works similar to red storm rising, hunt for red October set in the modern or recent day era and time frames. Basically modern combat. Heavier on the technical side.

Read 2032 (underwhelming) and some other forgettable what if clash between USA/China.

Doesn’t necessarily have to be WW3 could be a peer to peer or near peer conflict for example.

Something leaning into the techno side of techno thriller. So many of them gloss over that aspect to focus on the still in my opinion poor human element of the story.

Had tried to ask in credible defense, maritime and war college but no help there. Honestly just maddeningly curious what a modern ish and realistic naval and air combat campaign would look like.

Seems exceedingly rare these days.

Could also be a literature request and a question too.

What would modern naval combat look like between peer level navies? I know with the American navy, realistically they could fight every navy and win with the sheer amount of carriers and submarines.

But say theoretically, given six months what would a UK and Russian naval engagement look like? Does the CAPTAS 4 sonar make the ASW platform the hunter now? What about ASM’s, how many to say sink a modern frigate? Is 32 cells enough for a sustained battle of saturation attacks? What’s with all the different bands of radars too?

How close would a plane have to get to the frigate or destroyer to see one of the more modern stealth vessels to engage it, then assuming larger radar set on a vessel than an airplane, the vessel would surely see the plane before the plane saw it, even with the plane looking down covering a larger area. Has a ship ever shot down a jet in relatively modern combat?

I’ve so many fucking questions.

I read 2034 and some other forgettable what if about USA/China conflict in the near future and came away with an itch for a more technical techno thriller something akin to red storm rising but set in this time or within say a decade plus or minus. Any recommendations?