The stock NAS Defender antenna is a manually retractable antenna. It is mounted onto the left front wing of the vehicle (see drawing to the right). The antenna is not supported by a coil spring, and may easily be damaged by brush impact. Replacing the stock antenna with a spring-mounted or a rubber antenna will provide adequate protection against brush damage.

To minimize antenna damage, a coil spring antenna base may be purchased separately or as a kit including antenna. Non-invasive mounting options are many, ranging from off the shelf to custom rack-mount and hinge-mount brackets.

Replacing the stock antenna is simple. Use pliers to loosen the antenna mount from the wing-top surface. If you encounter any resistance due to rust, gently tap one of the two mount notches counter-clockwise until the mount separates from the base plate. The antenna cable is routed underbody starting from the bottom of the wing (see picture to the left) through the engine compartment and through the battery compartment as illustrated above. Use existing the antenna's route to route the new antenna cable through. To install the new antenna cable, hold the pivoting under-wing base mount steady while tightening the exterior mount firmly (using pliers, as shown above).

Whether you need to replace existing or add new GPS / CB / AMFM / SW / XM devices and antennas, it helps to plan ahead, considering the length of antenna cables required, proper operation and esthetical mounting locations, assuring proper spacing between antennas to minimize interference, types of antennas and mounts, and brush clearance. The drawing shown above points to most common antenna mounting areas (refer to blue dots) and Defender antenna routes under the driver's seat battery compartment.