Low Altitude Assault Transport / infantry / Legends The Low Altitude Assault Transport / infantry ( LAAT / i ) , often referred to as the Republic attack gunship or Republic Gunship , was a specialized gunship designed for aerial - based support and infantry transportation . It was produced by Rothana Heavy Engineering and used by the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars . The Galactic Empire also used it for a brief period after the conclusion of the war . The LAAT / i was affectionately known as the " larty " by clone troopers . Characteristics . The LAAT / i was a repulsorlift infantry transport capable of carrying up to thirty troopers . Secondary functions included reconnaissance , direct fire support , search - and - recovery , and low - altitude air - to - ground and air - to - air strikes against vehicles ranging from airspeeders to starfighters . In addition to its trooper complement , housed on a deckplate protected by drooping wings and a sliding side door , the LAAT / i could carry four military speeder bikes in an aft - deployable rack . The crew complement comprised a clone trooper pilot and co - pilot / forward gunner in the hunchbacked cockpit , and two auxiliary gunners stationed in pinpoint composite - beam turrets extending on articulated arms from the troop cabin . An IM - 6 battlefield medical droid was commonly carried aboard in an emergency locker . In the event of emergencies , the cockpit capsule could separate from the main craft to act as an escape pod . The LAAT / i was a fully armed gun platform , with a complete arsenal of weaponry that consisted of three anti - personnel laser turrets , two forward - facing , one covering the stern hatch ; two top - mounted mass - driver missile launchers fed by rear - mounted ordnance belts and commonly loaded with short - range homing missile s , HE ( high explosive ) , HEAP ( high explosive armor - piercing ) , and APF ( anti - personnel fragmentation ) rounds ; four composite - beam , pin - point laser turrets , ( on some models , the slot for these Balls were inter - changeable with floodlights ) two of which were automated bubble - turrets located on either wing ; and eight light air - to - air rockets stowed on the underside of each wing . Infantry gunships were equipped with atmospheric containment shielding and could be deployed from space , yet could not reach orbit altitude without a carrier vessel . The LAAT / i ' s optimal fighting range was in the lower atmosphere , where they could reach speeds in excess of six hundred kilometers per hour . A single " Acclamator " - class assault ship could carry up to eighty LAAT - series gunships , while a " Venator " - class Star Destroyer had space for half that complement . The LAAT / i was highly effective but lacked large amounts of armor making it a vulnerable target . When approaching a target , the main cabin would light up red , a visual indicator to stand by , when troopers would conduct last - moment preparations including checking their ammunition and communication systems . Once touching down , the red lights would change to green , signaling clearance to debark . Within the main cabin were various handles attached to cables hanging from the ceiling of the main cabin . When the gunship ' s hatches were open , clone troopers would hold on to these to help keep their balance while the gunship was in flight . In the case of rapid deployment , clone troopers could hang on to these as the cables were lowered to the ground for quick deployment so the LAAT / i wouldn ' t need to land . However , during this process , both the clone troopers and gunship were vulnerable to enemy fire , so landing and debarking in the regular manner was the more common way to deploy troops . LAAT / i gunships were often a welcome sight for exhausted clone troopers and their Jedi commanders . The assault gunships were capable of being fitted out for stealth missions by the addition of engine baffles and shields , an electromagnetic emission and heat signature - reducing black polymer , as well as the removal of its weaponry . Those modifications made the main hold almost sound - proof . History . New Sith Wars . Odionate forces used gunships visually similar to the LAAT . They were sometimes carried into battle by a ship that was visually similar to the CR25 troop carrier . Kerra Holt , disguised as a member of the death cult Odion cultivated , travelled aboard one of these ships on a mission to Sarrassia . Clone Wars . An early LAAT design was used as a prisoner transport by the Jedi Order at least ten years before the Clone Wars , but the more familiar infantry version gained fame as an air assault vehicle during the war . The LAAT / i was first deployed in a military operation at the First Battle of Geonosis , in 22 BBY where six gunships rescued the surviving Jedi from the Petranaki arena under the command of Jedi Master Yoda . The gunships proved valuable for the Republic during the battle , eliminating many " Hardcell " - class transports and clearing the battlefield of many Separatist armored units , especially " Hailfire " droids , which were proving deadly for the Republic AT - TEs . Flights of LAAT / i gunships attempted to disable and destroy many of the fleeing " Lucrehulk " - class core ships on the battlefield . During the war , Jedi would occasionally pilot the gunships , as demonstrated by Mace Windu at Geonosis and Obi - Wan Kenobi at the Battle of Thule . Infantry gunships saw continued use throughout the war , with some stationed at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant . They would prove pivotal for the Republic many times throughout the brutal conflict , helping win many battles . At some point , the Confederacy unveiled their answer to the LAAT , the MAF , followed by the HMP , both of which matched the LAAT in terms of firepower . At some point during the Clone Wars , a least one LAAT / i was deployed with a Clone Trooper unit that include BL - 1707 on Lubang Minor , but ended up stranded there , of which the vehicle was later rediscovered by 1 ABY . Ultimately , remaining Republic LAAT / i gunships would be assimilated into the Imperial Army with the formation of the Galactic Empire . Eventually , the Empire would phase out the LAAT for various reasons , replacing them with the MAAT . Customization . During the Clone Wars , many LAAT / i gunships were customized with special paintwork . The Muunilinst 10 had a special gunship assigned to them painted with a blue color scheme and the visage of a rancor across the nose of the ship . Other gunships , some of which were also individually named , were painted with provocative or morale - boosting artwork on the nose of the ship . Some of the known customized gunships were the " Lucky Lekku " , " Crumb Bomber " , " Spaceward Ho ! " , " Bantha Poodoo " , " Plo ' s Bros " , " Separatist Nightmare " , " Bad Kitty " , " Dooku Boot " and " The Bug Stomper " . There was also an LAAT / c gunship with a wampa painted on the nose . Galactic Civil War . Early in the Galactic Civil War , a small anti - Imperial faction , led by former Jedi General Rahm Kota , found use for a LAAT / i during their attack on Imperial forces stationed on Felucia , shortly after the inhabitants of the planet were corrupted by the Dark side of the Force . Later on , in the Galactic Civil War , the Rebel Alliance found several disabled , yet still functional , LAAT gunships . The Alliance used these vehicles to further their cause in overthrowing the Empire . When in use by the Rebels , they were known as either " Alliance Assault Craft " or " Rebel Assault Transports " . Other rebel groups not affiliated with the Alliance would also come to rely on the aging military transports , like the Jaabimi and Kaminoan rebels . During the Galactic Civil War , an Imperial storm commando named Sarkli , along with many other stormtroopers , landed in a canyon on Geonosis after a skirmish in the asteroid field with Rogue Squadron . Sarkli ' s escape pod landed near a LAAT / i gunship left over from the Clone Wars . The Imperials were attacked by B1 battle droids , also from the Clone Wars . Sarkli commandeered the LAAT / i in an attempt to escape the droids . Wedge Antilles , who had also crashed on Geonosis , fought his way through stormtroopers and droids and was attacked and almost killed by Sarkli when he came out of the chaos . The LAAT was severely damaged when Wedge took control of an E - Web heavy repeating blaster . Swearing revenge on Wedge , Sarkli crashed the LAAT / i into the canyon wall . Variants . Rothana Heavy Engineering produced a number of LAAT variants , including the LAAT / c , a carrier gunship capable of delivering walkers and fighter tanks onto the battlefield ; the LAAT / v with deck space for sixteen speeder bikes or eight military landspeeders ; and a command variant commonly used by Advanced Recon Commandos . Some models lacked the bubble turrets on the sides of the deck , or had painting on the sides instead such as Kowakian monkey - lizards or Twi ' leks . Non - standard paint schemes appeared more frequently on craft assigned to serve elite units such as ARC Troopers . On units that had them , the side - mounted bubble turrets were mounted on armatures that normally held the forward half of the passenger bay doors . As the LAAT / i was equipped with an atmospheric pressure containment shield specifically for use in a vacuum , it was used for various actions in sub - orbital combat situations and also for boarding missions between carrier vessels and enemy cruisers in outer orbit and deep space battles . Bubble turrets were fitted to LAAT / i gunships engaged in combat above the atmospheric ceiling of planets and in space on numerous occasions . At least one longer - range voyage was undertaken by a LAAT / s during the Clone Wars , with bubble turrets fitted in conjunction with fully enclosing , sealed passenger / cargo bay doors . However , the craft crash - landed after atmospheric entry due to complications with weather conditions . Behind the scenes . The LAAT was inspired by real - world helicopter gunships , notably the ( now ) . The ARC LAAT / i ' s " nose art " was inspired by the decoration found on some real - world combat aircraft such as the from the 1st AVG Flying Tigers . LEGO manufactured three sets of the gunship , one in 2002 for " " and the second one in 2008 for " " . The third , from 2013 is for . The first set includes four clone troopers , a droideka , two Super Battle Droids and a generic Human Jedi Knight . The vehicle has side bubble turrets , a gun rack and a medical center . The second variation includes Obi - Wan Kenobi , Plo Koon , Commander Cody , Asajj Ventress , and a clone trooper . The vehicle has a 74 - Z Speeder and a Command Center . The escape pod has been replaced by a bacta tank , and the bubble turrets on each side are replaced with two troop bay doors . The second set also includes spy droids and flick - fire missiles . The third set includes a clone trooper pilot , a clone trooper captain , Obi - Wan Kenobi , Padmé Amidala , Anakin Skywalker , two super battle droids , a speeder , and flick - fire missiles . The featured ships that looked similar to LAATs . John Jackson Miller mentioned on his blog that the similarities between the later Republic technology and the ships on display was intentional .