Jumptroopers, also known as Imperial Jump Troopers, Imperial jet troopers, rocket troopers or jetpack troopers, represented a specialized division of stormtroopers within the Galactic Empire. Their service spanned the period leading up to and including the Galactic Civil War. These soldiers were distinguished by their use of jetpacks, enabling brief periods of aerial mobility. Specialized jumptrooper units existed, adapted for various planetary conditions, including the Arctic Jumptrooper, Desert Jumptrooper, and Forest Jumptrooper.
Jumptroopers functioned as a specialized type of stormtroopers in the Galactic Empire's military structure. Much like their clone predecessors, they were outfitted with jetpacks that provided the capability to hover or navigate in open space. In combat, they fulfilled several roles, such as overrunning defensive walls for direct assaults on fortified enemy positions, or executing aerial deployments to strike otherwise inaccessible enemy locations.
Their weaponry included burst shields, RT-97C heavy blaster rifles, E-11 medium blaster rifles, and missile launchers. In addition to jetpacks, standard stormtrooper armor was typically worn, though specialized armor was sometimes used. One such variant incorporated a mechanism with tubes connected to the helmet, similar to a TIE pilot's control box. Another armor variation employed tubes linking the pack to a uniquely designed helmet, allowing the jumptrooper armor to withstand the vacuum of space.
Jumptrooper units participated in Imperial operations on Jedha in 9 BBY. Furthermore, they were stationed at Imperial Post 8L-055 on the planet Koboh, where they engaged Jedi Knight Cal Kestis in battle.
A contingent of jumptroopers was assigned to Captain Brunson's Arquitens-class command cruiser in 2 BBY. On Geonosis, these troops attempted to board the Spectres' ship, the Ghost, but Rex, Saw Gerrera, and the rebels successfully defended against them. After the entire unit was killed, Brunson ordered her crew to bury the Ghost by collapsing an air shaft on top of them.
During the Battle of Atollon, Governor Arihnda Pryce deployed jumptroopers to counter Mandalorian warriors from Clan Wren, led by Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren, who sought to destroy an Interdictor vessel of the Seventh Fleet by targeting its gravity well projectors. The jumptroopers' defense failed, resulting in significant casualties, and the Interdictor's destruction enabled the remaining rebels to escape the planet.
In 1 BBY, jumptroopers were tasked with defending an Imperial Mandalore prison outpost against Clan Wren, Clan Kryze, and members of the Spectres, who were on a mission to rescue Sabine Wren's father, Alrich Wren. Following the retreat of Imperial forces, Clan Wren, Kryze, and the Spectres discovered that Alrich was already being transferred and was not at the prison.
Some time after the Mission to Mandalore, jumptroopers under Governor Pryce's command engaged the Lothal resistance group at the Lothal cliff dwelling during the rebels' effort to liberate the planet from Imperial occupation. Jumptroopers participated in the Battle of Jakku to defend the Eviscerator from Iden Versio.
The initial appearance of jumptroopers was in the 1993 video game Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, where they were referred to as airtroopers. This concept was later integrated into the Star Wars Expanded Universe continuity. However, on April 25, 2014, the Star Wars Expanded Universe was redesignated as non-canon and rebranded as Legends.
The jumptroopers were subsequently reintroduced into canon through the 2014 mobile game Star Wars: Commander. In this game, they could be trained using a Level 8 Barracks and bore a visual resemblance to the Imperial jumptroopers featured in the 2008 Legends video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game.
In the 2015 video game Star Wars Battlefront, jumptroopers were depicted wearing standard stormtrooper armor along with compatible jetpacks. The 2017 video game Star Wars Battlefront II initially featured a jumptrooper design with a visor that did not align with the Star Wars Rebels version, among other visual inconsistencies. The developers later rectified these issues, updating the jumptrooper's appearance to match the Rebels depiction.
In the 2023 video game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, jumptroopers (identified as jetpack troopers) appeared as a type of enemy. The armor they wore was the same armor that originally released in Star Wars Battlefront II. It remains unclear whether this was a deliberate choice.