The S-5 heavy blaster pistol was a versatile weapon with a heavy wooden gripstock and twin scopes for sighting and rangefinding. Unlike most handheld blaster weapons, the S-5 fired green blaster bolts, similar to the Q2 hold-out blaster pistol. The S-5 also featured a dart launcher underneath the main barrel, able to fire either an anesthetic microdart, a sting charge, or a grappling hook tip. The latter was used in conjunction with a liquid-cable shooter attachment; a quick customization that turned the S-5 pistol into a durable ascension gun (as an ascension gun, the S-5's liquid-cable could hold up to 500 kilograms). The cable reservoir held enough liquid to form twenty meters of cable, and the spike launcher itself cost around 50 Republic Credits around the time of the Invasion of Naboo.
The S-5 blaster pistol was used extensively during the Battle of Naboo. Captain Quarsh Panaka carried one such weapon during the fighting, though other members of the Royal Security Force wielded Naboo officer's pistols, a variation on the S-5 design. Panaka's nephew, Gregar Typho, carried one of these weapons while serving as Senator Padmé Amidala's bodyguard. The expensive, prestige blaster design was later seen in use during the Clone Wars, in the hands of Jedi General Bardan Jusik during an anti-terrorist operation on Coruscant.
The Arms & Equipment Guide sourcebook erroneously claims the S-5 was manufactured by the SoroSuub Corporation.