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"Set for stun. I want them all alive. We'll need an ion blaster."
Alecia Beck[5]

Ion blasters,[4] also known as ionization blasters,[1] were handheld weapons used by the Jawas of Tatooine while hunting for salvage. These customized blasters fired particles of ionized energy to disable the electrical systems of droids, rendering them powerless. When used against living creatures, they could be used as stun weapons.

Description[]

The ion blasters carried by Jawa scavengers of Tatooine were handcrafted,[1] customized models built from salvaged parts,[4] including parts from the CA-87 blaster.[3] The species typically began with a stripped-down blaster power pack, and added components such as an accu-accelerator, scrounged from a starship's ion engine, and a restraining bolt from a droid. These pieces were added to the weapon's firing mechanism, giving the blaster pistol an accurate range of up to twelve meters. The blasters were fitted with a safety button located above the trigger,[1] and discharged blasts of ionized particles that disrupted the electronic systems of droids, causing the units to shut down.[4] They could also be employed to stun living beings, in order to keep enemies alive.[5]

History[]

"We're doomed!"
C-3PO's response to seeing an ion blaster[6]

Ion weapons were a long-established technology in the galaxy, ranging from larger ranged weapons such as the T-7 ion disruptor rifle to massive planet-based ion cannons. The Jawa ion blasters were created using the same principle, and were carried by the scavengers during salvage runs on the desert planet of Tatooine.[4] The astromech droid R2-D2 was hit by an ion blaster after being discovered in the Jundland Wastes by a group of Jawas, who carried the droid back to their sandcrawler.[6] A Jawa brought an ion blaster to bear on Darth Vader when the Sith Lord visited Jabba Desilijic Tiure in his palace on Tatooine, but was killed when Vader deflected the weapon's green bolt back into its owner.[7]

A group of Jawas used their ion blasters to defend themselves against the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin after he attempted to board their sandcrawler. While Djarin would succeed in climbing on top of the sandcrawler, he was almost instantly stunned by a series of ion blasters firing simultaneously, causing him to fall onto the ground below.[8]

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