Katarn-class commando armor

"I gotta thank whoever designed this Katarn-class armor for us. It's great stuff. But obviously they never thought we'd need to sit down. Ouch."

- Scorch

Katarn-class commando armor was armor used by clone commandos during the Clone Wars. It was named after the predatory animal from Kashyyyk. It weighed 20 kilograms and could cost up to 100,000 credits on the black market.

This armor was more expensive and provided better protection than standard clone armor, due to the special composition and novel chemical properties of its armor plates, along with the inclusion of deflector shields. It was also designed for easy bacta injection via handheld dispensers. Katarn Armor was often highly customized by the clone commandos who wore it.

History
"I used to think I wore this armor. Now I think it's wearing me."

- RC-1136

Mark II Katarn armor, issued circa four months after the Battle of Geonosis, was reinforced against Verpine shatter guns and EMP weaponry, following recommendations made by Omega Squad after their tour on Qiilura.

Mark III Katarn armor, issued circa ten months after the Battle of Geonosis, featured further enhancements, being blaster resistant against ordnance up to laser cannon rounds and light grenades. Night Ops armor first became available at this time.

Several variations of this armor existed for different mission profiles. The ADSD Katarn armor was designed for deep-space and aquatic infiltration, featuring a fully-pressurized suit with a greater oxygen supply. Night Ops Armor featured a special stealth alloy that shielded the armor against sensors and made the wearer almost invisible to the naked eye.

Later, during the Galactic Civil War, another version of Katarn armor was produced, although this resembled Phase II clone trooper armor and the name "Katarn" was probably just invoked as a reference to the vastly superior Clone Wars variant.

Specifications
While there were several variations of this armor, certain features remained constant.

Helmet - The helmet of the Katarn-class armor had a HUD or heads up display that consistently displayed tactical data such as the location and distance to your target, the health of the wearer and the strength of the suit's shielding. The Helmet could system link to others through the use of an internal communications antennae allowing each member of a squad to keep track of their comrade's health and location. Specialized internal sensors could detect the make, model, and relative accuracy of every weapon that a commando used, and could adjust the format of the targeting reticule for differing weapons. The Helmet had a built-in filtration system which could extract oxygen from toxic environments. The visor was designed to incorporate electrobinocular and night-vision modes.

Body - The body of the armor boasted reinforced Duraplast plating for defense against blaster fire and other anti-infantry weapons. Its design included resistance to extreme heat and cold. The suit could be fully sealed allowing a commando to survive in vacuum for up to 20 minutes. The knuckle plate of the armor featured a retractable vibroblade used for close quarter combat and covert encounters.

Backpack - The Backpack featured specialized ammunition cartridges that held various types of ammo, and was reconfigurable for many different missions. An extra oxygen tank for aquatic and space-borne environments, a large bacta dispenser for augmented healing, or even an external communications array for long distance communications (i.e. subspace transmissions). It is interesting to note that the backpack had a display on it that showed the last two digits of the respective commando's ID number.

Appearances
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command 4
 * Star Wars: Republic Commando
 * Republic Commando: Hard Contact
 * Omega Squad: Targets
 * Republic Commando: Triple Zero
 * Odds
 * ''Republic Commando: True Colors
 * Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
 * Imperial Commando: 501st
 * Republic Commando: Order 66
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game
 * Republic Commando: Order 66
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game