The final and most formidable dark trooper exoskeleton/droid was the Phase III Dark Trooper, representing the culmination of the project. Towering over even the Phase II dark trooper, it was envisioned as the standard armor for the next generation of stormtroopers. At times, it was even categorized as a walking tank.
The ultimate goal of the project was to create the perfect infantry unit for the battlefield – a fusion of the creativity, unpredictability, and initiative of a clone with the durability and firepower of a heavy battle droid. The exoskeleton enhanced the wearer's strength, firepower, and resistance to damage.
The standard armament of the Phase III trooper included a substantial handheld assault cannon and a pair of shoulder-mounted seeker missile launchers, concealed beneath the suit's shoulder plates when not deployed. They were also equipped with fragmentation grenades, thermal detonators, and concussion grenades. The Phase III Dark Troopers' black armor was constructed from phrik, a nearly indestructible metal mined on the moon of Gromas 16, providing exceptional defense against enemy fire, including energy weapons like lightsabers.
Certain Phase III Dark Troopers also featured integrated weaponry, such as a pair of dual blaster cannons in each wrist, and six PLEX rocket tubes situated under the shoulder plates, with three on each shoulder.
Only a limited number of Phase III dark troopers were ever manufactured. One such unit served as the armor for General Rom Mohc, who employed it as an exosuit in a duel against Kyle Katarn during a battle aboard the massive factory ship Arc Hammer. However, Mohc was defeated, and the Arc Hammer was destroyed, resulting in billions of credits in losses for the Empire and prematurely ending the Dark Trooper Project.
Following the Arc Hammer's destruction, some Phase III units remained operational. Notably, functional Phase III dark trooper models 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 produced on a planet if the Arc Hammer is positioned above it. They also played a role in some of the game's story missions.
The Phase III dark trooper's design, like various other individuals and objects in the Star Wars universe, reflects the Samurai motif, a recognized inspiration for Star Wars, through its striking resemblance to Samurai armor.
A 3.75-inch scale action figure of the Phase III Dark Trooper was released in the 1998 "Power Of the Force" line and re-released in the 2007 "30th Anniversary Collection" line. Hasbro also created "Build-A-Droid" figures of the Phase III Dark Troopers in 2009, which were packaged in pieces in several separate figure 2-packs. Interestingly, the figures exhibit distinct differences; the 1998 figure accurately represents the sprites from Dark Forces, while the buildable Dark Trooper appears to be based on the render featured in "The NEW essential guide to droids" (the image shown above).