Range troopers represented an elite division within the Galactic Empire's stormtrooper ranks, specifically belonging to the range corps.
These soldiers were known for their resilience and wore distinctive vambrace armor. Their helmets shared design elements with those of both the Imperial combat assault tank pilot and the coastal defender stormtrooper, featuring robust armor enhanced with external fur and a chestplate similar to the cold weather assault stormtroopers. They typically carried E-10R blaster rifles as their primary weapon. Uniquely, they utilized magnetic gription boots that ensured stability on rapidly moving vehicles. These troopers were considered among the most formidable within the Imperial Military, often regarding other units as less capable.
During the Empire's rule, range troopers saw action on Vandor, where they provided security for a 20-T Railcrawler conveyex transport when Tobias Beckett's crew targeted it to steal coaxium. Later, range troopers served alongside snowtroopers on the planet Banas under the command of Commodore Kurtruk. Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, representing the Alliance to Restore the Republic, encountered these Imperial forces during their mission to Banas.
At one point during the Empire's era, Darth Vader employed them to distribute bacta from large airborne tanks into the coastal waters of Uokara, with the intention of eliminating the entity known as Ghymnon.
Sentinel possessed a set of range trooper armor, which he wore in the Grand Arena during his Hunter bouts. Sentinel once remarked that range troopers embodied the kind of tough soldier he admired.
Range troopers made their debut in the 2018 motion picture Solo: A Star Wars Story.
The filmmakers created the magnetic effect of their boots by using a complex wire system attached to the actors' feet.
The Legends video game Star Wars: The Old Republic featured an in-game armor set entitled "Arctic Trooper Armor," which drew inspiration from the range trooper's design.