QinetiQ Maritime contracted by UK'sMinistry of Defence (MOD) to research co-ordinated defence against attacks on Royal Naval ships. The contract is to carry out research into the co-ordinated defence of the Royal Navy fleet against the emerging threat of attacks from small, fast and agile boats that might be used by pirates, terrorists or other hostile forces. The contract has been awarded by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), a trading fund of the MoD which maximises the impact of science and technology for UK defence and security. The research brings together two innovative concepts from QinetiQ with the potential to deliver an integrated solution for the Royal Navy to counter the small boat threat.