AT-ACT driver

"Fire on my command!"

―An AT-ACT driver to his co-pilot during the battle of Scarif^[2]

AT-ACT drivers were Galactic Empire army or navy units who piloted All Terrain Armored Cargo Transports.^[1] They wore white Imperial tank pilot armor,^[3] with some^[2] drivers' breastplates featuring markings matching those found on Imperial combat assault tank commander armor,^[1] along with a white coastal defender stormtrooper helmet that was adorned with grey and red markings, including a red Imperial crest located on the pilot's helmet.^[3] The drivers were issued either E-11^[3] or E-22 reciprocating double-barreled blaster rifles to carry as personal weapons. Despite their existence,^[1] specialized AT-ACT driver divisions were not used due to the fact that the AT-ACT was not considered a battlefield assault vehicle.^[4]

During the Galactic Civil War between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance, AT-ACT drivers were stationed at the Imperial security complex on the planet Scarif.^[2] In 1 BBY,^[5] the Rebel squad "Rogue One" infiltrated the Imperial facility to steal the Death Star plans and kick-started the Battle of Scarif. During the battle, AT-ACT drivers used their walkers to engage the Rebel ground forces, initially proving effective and driving them back. However, the AT-ACTs were quickly destroyed when the Rebels received support from the Alliance Fleet, with Blue Squadron's T-65 X-wing starfighters and UT-60D U-wing starfighter/support craft making short work of the walkers. The security complex itself was later destroyed by the Death Star under orders from Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin.^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

AT-ACT drivers were created and developed for the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. However, the unit first appeared as a 3-3/4" figure within Hasbro's Rogue One toy line, being included with the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT toy (alongside figures of Jyn Erso and C2-B5) released in November 2016.^[6] The artwork on the Rapid Fire Imperial AT-ACT's packaging contains a discrepancy, depicting the AT-ACT driver's helmet with the red symbol found on the shoretrooper helmet, instead of the red Imperial crest found on the actual included figure's helmet and in the film.^[1]

Despite the existence of AT-ACT driver toys, a blurb in the reference book Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide, written by Pablo Hidalgo and released on the same day as the film, claims that no specialized corp of pilots existed for the AT-ACT, despite the fact that that exact blurb was next to an image of an AT-ACT driver helmet.^[4]