All Terrain Scout Transport/Legends

"AT-STs will no longer be deployed on planets with an abundance of trees or other known obstacles such as rock-wielding primitives."

- AT-ST service manuals, post-Battle of Endor

The All Terrain Scout Transport (AT-ST) was a bipedal walker used in rudimentary form by the Galactic Republic during the late Clone Wars and, later and more extensively, the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War.

Main design


Colloquially known as a "chicken walker" because of its shape and walking motion, the AT-ST was a heavily armed light ground combat vehicle. It was equipped with a chin-mounted double medium blaster cannon, a concussion grenade launcher on the starboard side of its head, 2 durasteel feet with claws, and a blaster cannon on the port side. It was designed to be a recon hit and run vehicle. It was lighter than its bigger brother the AT-AT walker and could withstand standard blaster fire, but was vulnerable to heavy laser fire and missiles as well as physical attacks to the legs and the side of the head, as seen by the Ewoks destroying AT-ST's by logs ramming the sides of the heads. They also could be forced into by species with great physical strength, like a Wookiee; as seen by Chewbacca forcing his way through the top hatch and taking control of the walker. Properly thrown grenades could be thrown into the window hatches, as well.

The chin guns had an effective range of two kilometers and were used for anti-vehicle attacks, while the blaster cannon and grenade launcher provided close-range protection against infantry and light emplacements. AT-STs were piloted by a crew of two drivers.

The bipedal propulsion system was one of the primary weaknesses of the AT-ST. While on even terrain the walker could achieve over 90 kilometers per hour, but on uneven or shifting terrain a walker could quickly become unbalanced enough to fall over.

AT-ST/A
The Assault version of the AT-ST featured longer legs, a heavy, chin-mounted blaster cannon and a completely enclosed cockpit.

AT-KT
This variant was equipped with big weapons-mounts fitted to the upper portion of each leg of the walker. They were used in guerilla warfare against Wookiees.

AT-CT
The AT-CT variant was an AT-ST walker fitted with arms for use in construction. Though not designed for combat, the AT-CT could use the anti gravity beams on the side of the cockpit to lift an object and hurl it, repulsing it with enough force to make it a potent anti infantry weapon, as it could use the surrounding environment as a weapon.



AT-RCT
During the Clone Wars, the first AT-RCTs were developed. They had an open cockpit design, where the pilot and gunner sat one in front of the other.

AT-MP
This variant looked a bit like a squat AT-ST but boasted 8 missile launchers and a single rotary chaingun. When the Rebels first saw them many laughed because it looked like "One of those Imperial AT-STs birthed a stunted litter" (Alliance Major Limm Nix at the Battle of Corrdair). However their laughter turned to terror when the AT-MPs attacked them.

History
"It is best to deploy AT-STs in urban environments. The fear inspired is usually enough to get the job done."

- AT-ST service manuals

Early on in the Clone Wars, engineers at Rothana were busy developing a new bipedal walker, known as the All Terrain Scout Transport, following their construction and testing of the AT-XT. The AT-XT enjoyed moderate success during its somewhat brief operational time, but was rarely used during the war. At the end of the war the CIS constructed some of these weapons on the planet of Diado this production was stopped after Saesee Tiin destroyed the factory.

The earliest models would be deployed by the Grand Army of the Republic during the latter stages of the Clone Wars. The conflict would also see the debut of several other bipedal walker designs, like the AT-RT.

Under the Empire, Balmorra was the center of AT-ST production. The AT-ST was later viewed by Imperial commanders as a highly versatile weapon, excelling against infantry and lightly armored vehicles, but also useful for protecting vital units and patrolling hostile areas.



AT-STs were used by Blizzard Force during the Battle of Hoth. The Blizzard Force AT-ST was especially modified for polar climates, as were all the vehicles used on Hoth. It was equipped with ground penetrating sensor equipment that could detect instabilities in the permafrost and relay information back to the heavier vehicles, thus ensuring they avoided unstable ground. The walkers had a unit insignia consisting of a horned helmet. In the Battle of Endor, AT-STs were deployed by the Empire against the Rebel and Ewok ground troops. The walkers were very effective against these troops, until many of them were destroyed by Ewok traps and another AT-ST hijacked by Chewbacca with the help of some Ewoks.

The AT-ST's problem with shifting terrain, despite the designation 'All-Terrain', was demonstrated during the Battle of Endor, when Ewoks released a large pile of logs and stones to roll down the hill into the path of an AT-ST. The walker was unable to handle the rapidly shifting ground, and despite attempts by the pilot to stabilize the vehicle, it fell on its side and was destroyed. The Ewoks also used strategically-positioned logs hanging from trees to eliminate several other walkers.

The Imperial Remnant would go on to use AT-STs, though not as extensively.

Behind the scenes
An early scout walker concept was used in the Revenge of the Sith comic adaptation. This was derived from Episode III concept art made by Ryan Church.

The RotS script referred to the AT-RT walker as a "modified scout walker", which may imply that this two-man design was the basis.

More scenes with the AT-ST were filmed for the original trilogy movies, but George Lucas decided that the AT-ATs would be more impressive and that the AT-ST would look better in close quarters.

The original model for the AT-ST was created by Bill George for his own amusement. George Lucas liked it so much that he wanted to include it in The Empire Strikes Back alongside the AT-AT, so the Industrial Light & Magic model shop disassembled it and added a metal stop-motion armature.

The AT-ST model received some cosmetic changes for its extensive appearance in Return of the Jedi, thus explaining the minor differences in the models used for the two films.

Non-canon appearances

 * Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi