The entire Ecuadorian perimeter was covered by antiaircraft batteries and, most significantly, several teams carrying Soviet-made SA-16 Igla and British-made Blowpipe man-portable surface-to-air missiles.
Until the late 1990s the RNoAF ground based air defence solution, also known as the Norwegian Solution (NORSOL), consisted of three different weapon systems; the 40mm Bofors L70 gun (controlled by the Oerlikon Contraves FCS2000 monopulse doppler tracking radar), the laser beam riding RBS 70 MANPADS system and the NASAMS.
Airborne and Air Assault units primarily employ MANPADS teams for SHORAD; armored units rely on the Linebacker and Bradley Stinger Fighting Vehicle.
The University of Southern California reported in a study funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that “the capability of MANPADS to reach targets at altitudes of up to or beyond 15,000 feet allow these weapons to be used at a radius of 50 miles or more from most airports, making perimeter facility control largely ineffective.” Northrop Grumman has also estimated that "the zone of vulnerability around the airport is 300 square miles."