Jumptrooper

"We've got rocket troopers incoming!"

―Hera Syndulla, upon seeing jumptroopers^[src]

Jumptroopers, also known as Imperial Jump Troopers or rocket troopers, were specialized stormtroopers utilized by the Galactic Empire prior to and during the Galactic Civil War. Jumptroopers were equipped with jump packs or jetpacks that allowed them temporary flight. There were variants of jumptroopers that specialized in different planetary environments such as the Arctic Jumptrooper, the Desert Jumptrooper and the Forest Jumptrooper.

Overview and equipmentEdit

Lorn Bal FDGD — A version of the jumptrooper

Jumptroopers were a variant of the Galactic Empire's stormtroopers; similar to their clone predecessors, they were equipped with a jetpack,^[4] or alternatively, with a jump pack that could suspend them in the air or maneuver through space environments.^[5] They served several roles in combat, from being used to bound over walls to attack enemy fortifications directly,^[6] to aerial drops intended on attacking otherwise untouchable enemy positions.^[6]

They could carry burst shields,^[7] an RT-97C heavy blaster rifle^[8] or an E-11 blaster rifle,^[4] and missile launchers.^[9] Other than their jump packs, jumptroopers were generally suited with standard stormtrooper armor,^[8] but at times instead wore specialized armor, one of which included a mechanism attached to two tubes plugged into the helmet, similar to a TIE pilot's control box,^[6] and another variant with the tubes connecting the pack and the distinctively-different helmet.^[4]

HistoryEdit

Star-wars-jumptrooper-sixth-scale-hot-toys-silo-902768 — An Imperial Jumptrooper

In 2 BBY, a contingent of jumptroopers were attached to Captain Brunson's Arquitens-class command cruiser. On Geonosis, these jumptroopers attempted to board the Spectres' ship Ghost but were repelled by the rebels, Rex, and Saw Gerrera. After the entire unit was killed, Brunson ordered her crew to bury the Ghost by collapsing an air shaft on top of them.^[10]

Later, at the Battle of Atollon, jumptroopers were deployed by Governor Arihnda Pryce to repulse Mandalorian warriors of Clan Wren led by Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren who were attempting to destroy an Interdictor vessel of the Seventh Fleet by attacking its gravity well projectors. The jumptroopers failed in their defense, taking heavy losses in the process, and the Interdictor's destruction allowed the surviving rebels to escape the planet.^[5]

In 1 BBY, jumptroopers defended an Imperial Mandalore prison outpost from Clan Wren, Clan Kryze, and members of the Spectres, who were attempting to rescue Sabine Wren's father, Alrich Wren. After Imperial forces were forced to retreat, Clan Wren, Kryze, and the Spectres discovered that Alrich was already in the process of being relocated, and was not present at the prison.^[2]

Imperial jumptroopers — Jumptroopers in 2 BBY

Some time after the Mission to Mandalore, jumtroopers commanded by Governor Pryce fought against the Lothal resistance at the Lothal cliff dwelling during an attempt by the rebels to liberate the planet from Imperial control.^[11] The jumptroopers who survived that battle most likely died with the majority of Imperial forces after the rebels destroyed the Imperial Complex and effectively kicked the Empire from Lothal.^[12] Jumptroopers would later be seen in the Battle of Jakku.^[9]

Behind the scenesEdit

Jumptrooper-SW Commander — The jumptrooper's appearance in *Star Wars Commander*

Jumptroopers first appeared in the 1993^[13] video game Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as airtroopers.^[14] The Star Wars Expanded Universe later canonized the concept in their continuity. On April 25, 2014 the Star Wars Expanded Universe was declared non-canon and rebranded as Legends.^[15] Imperial Jump Troopers were later reintroduced into canon in the 2014 mobile game Star Wars: Commander,^[6] appearing visually similar to the Imperial jumptroopers seen in the 2008 Legends video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.^[16] In the 2015 video game Star Wars Battlefront, jumptroopers wore generic stormtrooper armor with matching jump packs.^[8] Imperial Jump Troopers could be trained in Star Wars: Commander with a Level 8 Barracks.^[6]