All Terrain Scout Transport / Legends The All Terrain Scout Transport ( AT - ST ) , also known as the chicken walker for its two - legged design , was a bipedal walker used by the Galactic Republic during the late Clone Wars and , later and more extensively , by the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War . It was a successor of the AT - XT . Characteristics . Main design . Colloquially known as a " chicken walker " because of its shape and walking motion , the AT - ST was a light , heavily - armed , ground combat vehicle , and able to trek various environments . The stock model was equipped with a chin - mounted , double blaster cannon , a light E - web twin blaster cannon on the port side , a concussion grenade launcher on the starboard side of its head , two clawed feet , and was encased with 9095 - T8511 grade durasteel . The AT - ST was designed to be a recon , hit - and - run vehicle . It was lighter than its bigger brother , the AT - AT , and could withstand standard blaster fire , but was vulnerable to heavy laser fire and missiles , as well as physical attacks to the legs and the side of the head . The latter weakness was witnessed during the Battle of Endor , when the Ewok tribal warriors destroyed an AT - ST by using logs to ram the sides of the walker ' s head . The AT - ST could also be infiltrated by species with great physical strength . At Endor , the Wookiee , Chewbacca , forced his way through the top hatch and took control of the walker in this manner . The AT - ST ' s chin blasters had an effective range of two kilometers and were used for anti - vehicle attacks , while the armor - shielded blaster cannon and grenade launcher provided close - range protection against infantry and light emplacements . Like the AT - AT , the AT - ST utilized a holographic targeting system , allowing a 360 - degree view of its position . The armor was not sufficient to withstand blasts from starship cannons , but was impervious to small - arms fire . In addition , according to Leia Organa Solo , the area behind the angled viewport visors was weak enough to be susceptible to missile fire , although Han Solo wondered with surprise how she knew that . The 8 . 6 - meter - tall walkers were piloted by a crew of two Imperial Army pilots and carried 200 kilograms of cargo , which had to be loaded and unloaded via the single hatch located atop the superstructure accessible using a series of handholds placed on the sides of the walker . However , for practicality , the preferred method of entry inside military bases was to use a loading platform . The bipedal propulsion system was one of the primary weaknesses of the AT - ST . On even terrain , the walker could achieve over 90 kilometers per hour , but on uneven or shifting terrain , a walker could quickly become unbalanced enough to fall over . In rare cases , AT - STs are even capable of leaping when in combat with an enemy . An advanced gyro system , located beneath the command module , provided the balance needed , but could be easily damaged . Following the Battle of Hoth , Rebel tacticians learned to ambush and immobilize AT - ST ' s ; once trapped , a well - placed rifle shot could destroy the walker ' s gyro system . Modular attachments . The AT - ST was a highly modular walker design , being able to switch weapons slots and additional tools to fulfill a variety of roles on the battlefield . Known modifications included a top - mounted , shielded gun turret for soldiers standing on lookout , mortar s bolted to the upper side of the turret , side - mounted six - slot rocket launchers instead of laser cannons , and grenade launcher mounts on the walker ' s lower cheeks . Other modifications included communications antennae , using additional armor plates to cover the battery packs and having a winch system underneath the chin gun . During the construction of the Imperial base on Endor , several AT - STs had their chin guns replaced with metal clamps and were used to tear down trees and make clearings for future construction . Variant models . AT - ST / A . The Assault version of the AT - ST featured longer legs , a heavy , chin - mounted blaster cannon and a reinforced gyro balance system . AT - KT . This variant was equipped with large weapons - mounts fitted to the upper portion of each leg of the walker . They were used in guerrilla warfare against Wookiees . AT - CT . The AT - CT variant was an AT - ST walker fitted with arms for use in construction . Though not designed for combat , the AT - CT could use the anti gravity beams on the side of the cockpit to lift an object and hurl it , repulsing it with enough force to make it a potent anti infantry weapon , as it could use the surrounding environment as a weapon . AT - RCT . During the Clone Wars , the first AT - RCTs were developed . They had an open cockpit design , where the pilot and gunner sat one in front of the other . AT - MP . This variant looked a bit like a squat AT - ST but boasted 8 missile launchers and a single rotary chaingun . History . Early on in the Clone Wars , engineers at Rothana were busy developing a new bipedal walker , known as the All Terrain Scout Transport , following their construction and testing of the AT - XT . The AT - XT enjoyed moderate success during its somewhat brief operational time , but was rarely used during the war . At the end of the war , the Confederacy of Independent Systems constructed some of these weapons on the planet Diado . This production ceased when Saesee Tiin destroyed the factory . The earliest models were deployed by the Grand Army of the Republic during the latter stages of the Clone Wars . The conflict also saw the debut of several other bipedal walker designs , like the AT - RT . Under the Empire , Balmorra was the center of AT - ST production . The AT - ST was later viewed by Imperial commanders as a highly versatile weapon , excelling against infantry and lightly armored vehicles , but also useful for protecting vital units and patrolling hostile areas . At least two AT - STs were stationed near an erected statue of the Emperor in Naboo ' s capital , Theed , on Empire Day as part of the holiday festivities on the planet . AT - STs were used by Blizzard Force during the Battle of Hoth . The Blizzard Force AT - ST was specially modified for polar climates , as were all the vehicles used on Hoth . It was equipped with ground - penetrating sensor equipment that could detect instabilities in the permafrost and relay information back to the heavier vehicles , thus ensuring they avoided unstable ground . The walkers had a unit insignia consisting of a horned helmet . In the Battle of Endor , AT - STs were deployed by the Empire against Rebel and Ewok ground troops . The walkers were very effective against these troops , until many of them were destroyed by Ewok traps and another AT - ST was hijacked by Chewbacca with the help of some Ewoks . The AT - ST ' s problem with shifting terrain , despite the designation " All - Terrain , " was demonstrated during the Battle of Endor , when Ewoks released a large pile of logs and stones to roll down the hill into the path of an AT - ST . The walker was unable to handle the rapidly shifting ground and , despite attempts by the pilot to stabilize the vehicle , it fell on its side and was destroyed . The Ewoks also used strategically positioned logs hanging from trees to eliminate several other walkers . As a direct result of the losses inflicted on the Empire in Endor , AT - STs were later forbidden from being deployed onto worlds composed extensively of forests or natives with primitive weaponry . The Imperial Remnant would go on to use AT - STs , though not as extensively . Following the Galactic Civil War , AT - STs and AT - ATs were also used by the New Republic . They were considered as quite old vehicles and were relegated to local planetary defense forces . Behind the scenes . An early scout walker concept was used in the . This was derived from concept art made by Ryan Church . The " Revenge of the Sith " script referred to the AT - RT walker as a " modified scout walker , " which may imply that this two - man design was the basis . In the June 27 , 1982 issue of the " Star Wars " comic strip arc " The Return of Ben Kenobi , " the Star Wars scrapbook section depicted a walker called a " Two - Man Imperial Scout Walker . " However , it bore a resemblance closer to half of the AT - AT Walkers than to the AT - STs used in the film . More scenes with the AT - ST were filmed for the original trilogy movies , but George Lucas decided that the AT - ATs would be more impressive and that the AT - ST would look better in close quarters . The original model for the AT - ST was created by members of the Industrial Light & Magic team , and George Lucas thought it was " neat " and decided to include it in " " alongside the AT - AT , so the ILM model shop disassembled it and added a metal stop - motion armature . The AT - ST model received some cosmetic changes for its extensive appearance in " " , thus explaining the minor differences in the models used for the two films . A mini - game where the player can use an AT - ST is available in the 1998 video game " " , unlocked through a cheat code . In the 2001 video game " " and its 2002 expansion pack " " , the AT - ST serves as the Galactic Empire ' s heavy mech destroyer unit . They are produced at mech factories in single - player or multi - player . In the 2003 video game " " tutorial mission , " Tatooine Training , " some Imperial recruiters on Tatooine will allow the player ( Luke Skywalker ) to test - ride an AT - ST near Tosche station , after Luke arrived there in a landspeeder . After getting adjusted to the steering of the AT - ST , the player is then deployed on a droid hunt as a way to identify whether the player is a good shot . After destroying enough droids , the recruiters then stated that , as part of the completion of the training procedure , the player is to " dispatch your application to : Screening Office , Imperial Space Academy , your sector . " AT - STs were also seen in the 2006 video game " " and its 2007 . In 2010 , LucasArts released a non - canon continuation of the dark side storyline of " " as downloadable content . In the storyline , the Dark Apprentice was ordered by his master , Darth Vader , to hunt down the Rebels on Endor . Chewbacca took control of an AT - ST and attempted to stop the Dark Apprentice from gaining access to the Endor shield bunker . Han Solo used his rocket launcher to attack the Apprentice , but he used the Force to redirect the rocket into Chewbacca ' s walker . He then jumped to the top and pried open the top hatch , forcing Chewbacca to come out and grapple with him . The Dark Apprentice bested Chewbacca only to use him as a shield from Solo ' s blaster shots , killing the Wookiee . The Apprentice then jumped onto the roof of the bunker and impaled Solo on his lightsaber .