Mark IV recon droid

The Mark IV recon droid was a reconnaissance droid manufactured by Arakyd Industries. It was used most during the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War by Separatist droid snipers, the Galactic Marines of the Old Republic, IG-100 magnaguards, Wookiees, and Imperial commandos.

All Mark IV recon droids were equipped with a standard blaster. In addition, these units were either also equipped with a self-destruct mechanism or an orbital strike beacon that could be activated remotely by the droid's owner. The self-destruct mechanism would blast the droid apart to pieces, and at the same time cause a destructive explosion capable of immediately killing or destroying any troops and droids unfortunate enough to be caught within the blast radius. Once initiated, the self-destruct mechanism could not be deactivated even by the droid's owner. However, it takes about five seconds for the droid to self-destruct, during this time it would become immobile and an easy target for any soldier quick enough to destroy it before it blew up.

Separatist droid snipers' Mark IV recon droids had an orbital strike beacon rather than a self-destruct mechanism. It could call upon a small orbital strike from any allying starships in orbit of the planet or moon. This device also required a few seconds to power up, but unlike the self-destruct mechanism, it was completely mobile even when it was activated. This device was just as devastating as the self-destruct mechanism, but the orbital strike do not always hit its target(s).

It should be noted that the Mark IV recon droid was identical to the R-1 recon droid, as well as the R-4 recon droid. It's design was also similar to that of a DRK-1 probe droid, and it is possible that it was based off of the Dark Eye probe.

Behind the Scenes
In the game, Star Wars: Battlefront, clone sharpshooters, droid snipers, scout troopers, and Rebel marksmen all carried recon droids to the battlefield. Although, all the recon droids were identical, they were different models of each other. The clone sharpshooters' recon droids were called the R-1 recon droids, the droid snipers had Mark IV recon droids, and the Rebel marksmen and scout troopers both had R-4 recon droids. However, in Star Wars: Battlefront II, the sniper class no longer carried recon droids, but instead they all had an auto turret that they could use to defend certain areas of the battlefield. Instead, the "clone commanders", the IG-100 magnaguards, the Wookiee warriors, and the "Imperial officers" all had Arakyd Mark IV recon droids. All the recon droids from the first game used the orbital strike beacon while the recon droids in the second game used a self-destruct mechanism.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II