XR-85 tank droid

From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.

Manufactured by Arakyd Industries, the XR-85 tank droid was a treaded, automated tank that was part of the Galactic Empire's arsenal.

Contents 1 Characteristics 2 History 3 Appearances 4 Sources

[edit] Characteristics

It was armed with a heavy particle cannon, two forward light turbolasers, four twin heavy repeating blasters (two at the front, two at the back), and one aft Golan Arms DF.9 cannon (for anti-personnel duty).

[edit] History

The first models were small enough to allow multiple units to be carried aboard a Sentinel-class landing craft. They were used to protect bases, attack Rebel uprisings, and keep the peace on Imperial worlds. However, the prototypes were too expensive for mass production. The height and length of these vehicles made them comparable to the older All Terrain Personal Transport.

Later models, produced right after Grand Admiral Thrawn's return and subsequent campaign, were over twice the size of a standard Imperial AT-AT and more inexpensive and practical to mass-produce. They utilized a pirated Industrial Automaton R7 droid brain matrix, used in the R7-series astromech droid, which made each droid far more independent and intuitive than earlier generations of combat droids.

Many of these tanks were used during the Rebel Alliance mission on Fest as a primary weapon against the Rebel snowspeeders. They were found mostly ineffective at surface-to-air combat, and were no match for Rogue Squadron pilots who successfully completed their task, which was the protection of stolen AT-PTs.

Cost-cutting by the crumbling Empire made the XR-85s a good alternative to other assault vehicles, as it became more difficult to find or train qualified crew. The production of tank droids was increased in order to bolster ground forces wherever possible.

[edit] Appearances

• Pax Empirica
• Dark Empire (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

[edit] Sources

• Dark Empire Sourcebook
• The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels