Blanaid, who also went by the moniker Watts, was a human male who functioned as an AT-ST driver within the ranks of the Imperial Army. During the period of the Galactic Civil War, he participated in the Empire's conflict against the Rebel Alliance. At the Battle of Endor, Blanaid served under the command of Major Newland while stationed aboard Tempest Scout 2, an All Terrain Scout Transport walker.
Blanaid, a human male of the species, held the rank of lieutenant within the ground forces of the Galactic Empire, an autocratic regime under the rule of Emperor Sheev Palpatine. In this role, he was an active participant in the Galactic Civil War, a conflict in which the Empire sought to suppress the resistance movement known as the Rebel Alliance. Four years following the Battle of Yavin, Blanaid served as the copilot and gunner for Major Newland during the Battle of Endor. Their mission involved patrolling the forests of Endor and engaging the planet's native inhabitants, the Ewoks, from aboard Tempest Scout 2, an AT-ST walker. As Blanaid and Newland carried out this assignment, their vehicle came under attack from the Rebel Chewbacca, who used a vine to swing onto the walker's roof, accompanied by two Ewok warriors. As the trio landed atop the walker, one of the Ewoks peered through the cockpit window. Blanaid spotted the inverted Ewok hanging in his field of vision and promptly alerted Newland to the situation. Following an order to eliminate the intruder, Blanaid opened the entry hatch located on the roof. The moment he extended his head through the opening, Chewbacca seized the lieutenant and forcibly ejected him from the vehicle. Subsequently, the two Ewoks jumped into the cockpit and rendered Newland unconscious.
Blanaid's initial appearance was in the 1983 film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Despite having a single line of dialogue, he was not identified on-screen, nor was he credited; the film's script referred to him as "walker pilot #1." Robert Watts, the co-producer of Return of the Jedi and a former lieutenant in the armed forces, played the part of the pilot. Consequently, the character was named "Watts" in 1999, within the Endor Limited expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game. However, this card game is categorized as part of Star Wars Legends, formerly known as the Expanded Universe, and is therefore considered non-canon. The name "Blanaid" was first revealed in the 2014 reference book titled Star Wars in 100 Scenes, authored by Jason Fry. Prior to being identified as either Watts or Blanaid, Robert Watts had at one point claimed that the pilot he portrayed was actually General Maximilian Veers from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.