An A-type represented a specific droid model. Certain units saw deployment by the Alliance to Restore the Republic throughout the duration of the Galactic Civil War, with a small number being positioned on the asteroid designated AX-456. In the course of the battle of AX-456, Rebel forces utilized some A-type droids as an improvised defensive structure, placing them between themselves and the advancing stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire. This wall of droids provided the Rebels with a temporary benefit; however, Cadet Leader Kyle Katarn instructed his stormtroopers to employ thermal detonators in order to breach the droid barrier, resulting in the A-types' destruction. The defending Rebels then tried to withdraw, but the remaining stormtroopers eliminated them all.
The initial appearance of A-type droids occurred in the 1997 novella titled Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire, which was authored by William C. Dietz.