Phase III schematics.
Had the project come to full realization, it would have produced the perfect battlefield infantry unit—an amalgam of a clone's creativity, unpredictability, and initiative combined with the resilience and firepower of a heavy battle droid. The exoskeleton provided its wearer with increased firepower, strength, and durability.
The Phase III trooper's standard weapon complement included a large handheld assault cannon and two shoulder-mounted seeker missile launcher racks that were hidden under the suit's shoulder plates when not in use. They were issued additional fragmentation grenades, thermal detonators, and concussion grenades. Phase III Dark troopers wore black armor made of the nearly indestructible metal phrik, mined on the moon Gromas 16. It provided superior protection against enemy fire including energy weapons such as lightsabers.
Some of the Phase III Dark Troopers also were equipped with an array of integrated weaponry, including a pair of dual blaster cannons, two in each wrist, and six PLEX rocket tubes located under the shoulder plates, three per shoulder.
Only a small number of Phase III dark troopers were ever constructed; one was the armor of General Rom Mohc, who used it as an exosuit in single combat against Kyle Katarn during a battle onboard the colossal factory ship Arc Hammer. However, Mohc was defeated and Arc Hammer was destroyed, costing the Empire billions of credits and thus bringing the Dark Trooper Project to a premature end.
Following the destruction of the Arc Hammer, some units were still left in operation. For instance, some working models of the Phase III dark trooper were present during Tyber Zann's theft of a Sith artifact on Coruscant in 4 ABY.
In Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption, these droids can only be created on a planet if Arc Hammer is placed above that specific planet. They were also featured in some of the story missions.
Like several other people and things in the Star Wars universe, the Phase III dark trooper's appearance evokes the Samurai motif, an acknowledged inspiration of Star Wars, by bearing a strong resemblance to Samurai armor.
The Phase III Dark Trooper was made into a 3.75 scale action figure in the 1998 "Power Of the Force" line, which was reissued in the 2007 "30th Anniversary Collection" line. The Phase III Dark Troopers were also made into "Build-A-Droid" figures by Hasbro in 2009, which came in pieces in several separate figure 2-packs. Curiously, they appear very distinct from one another; the 1998 figure is accurate to the sprites seen in Dark Forces, while the buildable Dark Trooper seems to have been based off of the render found in "The NEW essential guide to droids" (which is the image seen above).
- Dark Forces Official Player's Guide
- Rebellion Era Sourcebook
- The Official Star Wars Fact File33
- The New Essential Guide to Droids
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption Expansion: Prima Official Game Guide
- Rebellion Era Campaign Guide
- The Essential Guide to Warfare
- Star Wars: The Card Game — Heroes and Legends
- Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide