New Zealand Stage 1 electronic-warfare vehicle

History

New Zealand's armed forces took the V8-engined Land Rover Stage 1 as their light vehicle of the early 1980s: around 566 were assembled locally from CKD kits to fulfil the New Zealand Defence Force order, all V8-powered and 24-volt, fitted with sturdy brush bars and jerry-can mounts, and many carrying mesh roof racks on tubular supports designed to hold camouflage netting. The type's electrical system was notoriously troublesome until electronic ignition was retrofitted.

Four of these vehicles were converted for the electronic-warfare (signals surveillance) role. The conversion fitted hardtops, a radio tower and a roof rack to carry an aerial mast, and filled the interior with radio and surveillance equipment. To manage the extra weight and raised centre of gravity, the rear axle received anti-sway bars, tandem (dual) rear wheels and bespoke mudguards; disc brakes were fitted, the spare wheel moved to the front bumper, the battery box was relocated between the seats, and the rear fuel tank gave way to externally filled side tanks. The EW vehicles were also re-engined, exchanging the 3.5-litre petrol V8 for the 300 Tdi turbodiesel while keeping the 4-speed gearbox.

The preserved example (chassis SALLBCAV1AF558576, registrations C632 XRT / MM979) is a 1985 vehicle now held by the Dunsfold Collection in Surrey, which catalogues it as the 1985 Stage 1 109-inch EW dual-wheel conversion; it was featured as "Kiwi Warrior" in Land Rover Monthly, September 2022. The catalogue's "New Zealand Stage 1 electronic-warfare vehicle" reproduces its dual rear wheels, hardtop equipment body and aerial-mast fittings. The Stage 1 was the Series III-generation model that put the Range Rover's V8 driveline into the leaf-sprung 109, hence the record's series-3 model line.

Imagery

Registry record

Manufacturer

Land Rover (British Leyland); CKD kits assembled in New Zealand

Manufactured

1985 donor; EW conversion in NZDF service

Engine type

3.5 L Rover petrol V8 as built; EW conversions re-engined with the 2.5 L 300 Tdi turbodiesel

Production run

4 EW conversions, from ~566 NZDF Stage 1s

Current owner

The Dunsfold Collection, Surrey ↗

Country of origin

United Kingdom (assembled in New Zealand)

Status

preserved

Catalogue data

Record kind

Named model

Model line

Series III

Wheels

4

Base catalogue fields are exported from the Difflocked game. In-game physics values are arcade tuning, not certified historical measurements, and are deliberately not shown as specifications here.

Sources & citations

Researched sources

• 1985 Stage 1 109-inch EW dual-wheel conversion ↗ — The Dunsfold Collection (accessed 2026-09-10)
• Kiwi Warrior (feature on this vehicle) — Land Rover Monthly, September 2022 (accessed 2026-09-10)

Catalogue references

• https://dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/collection/109-nzdf-electronic-warfare/ https://dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/collection/109-nzdf-electronic-warfare/ ↗

Development reference notes

• New Zealand Stage 1 electronic-warfare vehicle · HERITAGE-FLEET-REFERENCES.md

  Dual rear wheels; hardtop equipment body; aerial-mast fittings. Reference: https://dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/collection/109-nzdf-electronic-warfare/