The Grand Army of the Republic pilots participated in many battles throughout the war, piloting gunships to transport troopers and flying V-19 Torrent starfighters to engage Separatist starfighters, especially in the early part of the war.[8]
These specialized troopers were normally equipped with a bolt caster, a blaster pistol, and a supply dispenser containing five packs of medicine, bacta, and ammunition (when they were equipped with this and on the ground they served as engineers).[5] However, in space they discarded their bacta, ammo, and bolt casters for time bombs.[7]
When Phase I armor was in use, ground and starfighter pilots wore armor that featured yellow markings and specialized helmets.[4] Those who wore Phase II pilot armor were able to customize their armor.[8] The pilots who flew capital ships wore a special type of armor, as seen in the Battle of Mon Calamari during the Clone Wars.[6]
Two sets of Phase II pilot armor[9] were in use as of 19 BBY.[3] The first set, which used a helmet that was not fully enclosed, was the more common set, as it was used by the majority of pilots.[9] The second set, which had a fully-enclosed helmet and armor that looked similar to that of an AT-AT pilot, was mainly used in the V-wing starfighter, which carried no life support system.[8]
Clone trooper pilots were randomly picked from the normal clone ranks to be pilots and technicians.[11] As the war progessed, a new breed of clones were trained to fly the latest Republic starfighters.[12] They could drive, fly, and pilot most things in the Republic's arsenal of vehicles, although many were trained to specialize in one particular craft.