Death trooper Death troopers were an elite variant of the Galactic Empire ' s stormtrooper s who were part of Imperial Intelligence . They served as protective details and bodyguard s for important Imperial officer s and members of the Tarkin Initiative , as well as being used as special - mission experts . They wore black suits of armor and specialized helmets that scrambled verbal communications . Death trooper s were trained in unarmed combat , heavy weapons , and sniping . Specializing in commando missions , the troopers were experts at covering their tracks , leaving little to no evidence of their missions . The earliest known deployment of the death troopers was in 13 BBY when they served Director Orson Krennic on his mission to find and capture Galen Erso . They would continue to protect the director until his death on Scarif at the start of the Galactic Civil War . Another death trooper squad served with the forces of Grand Admiral Thrawn during his campaign against the early Rebel Alliance and participated in the Battle of Atollon . A squad of death troopers led by Commander DT - F16 was also deployed to a freighter to protect a large kyber crystal en route to the Tonnis sector to eventually be transport ed and used for the primary weapon system of the Death Star . During the Ghost crew mission to Lothal , Commander DT - F16 tried to capture the crew leading the pursuit . History . Age of the Empire . Death troopers were named by Emperor Palpatine himself to capitalize on rumors about a legendary Advanced Weapons Research project to revive necrotic tissue , which resulted in the creation of uncontrollable Undead Trooper s . In 13 BBY , a squad of death trooper s accompanied Director Krennic to Lah ' mu . There , they took Galen Erso to complete his work on the Death Star . One of the troopers killed Erso ' s wife , Lyra , and the squad attempted to find his daughter Jyn Erso , with no success . Early Rebellion . During the early days of the Rebel Alliance , another squad of death troopers served under the command of the Seventh Fleet ' s commander , Grand Admiral Thrawn . They assisted Thrawn in capturing former ISB agent Kallus , following the latter ' s discovery as a Rebel spy , and held him during the Battle of Atollon . In the later part of the battle , the squad accompanied Thrawn to Chopper Base to capture senior Rebel officer s such as General Jan Dodonna and Captain Hera Syndulla . However , the Rebels were able to make their escape when a mystical force being called the Bendu attacked both the Imperial and Rebel forces . On Thrawn ' s orders , the death troopers concentrated their fire at Bendu , wounding him and sending him crashing to the ground . In 1 BBY , a squad under Commander DT - F16 accompanied a kyber crystal shipment and several technician s aboard Freighter 2716 . After departing from Faos Station , DT - F16 and her squad came under attack by Partisans ' leader Saw Gerrera and Spectres Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren . DT - F16 , her squad and other troopers were then left behind by the Spectres and were destroyed , along with Captain Slavin ' s Star Destroyer when the kyber crystal they were escorting exploded . A death trooper , DT - L21 , was stationed at Jhothal . There , he commanded stormtroopers when they discovered that the Spectres had returned . He , his Probe droid s and troopers then searched the sewers for the Spectres , to no avail . The death troopers then accompanied Grand Admiral Thrawn and Governor Pryce to the Imperial airfield to watch a test flight of the new TIE / D Defender Elite . When Bridger revealed himself , the death troopers were ordered by Thrawn to secure the TIE / D Defender . However , they lost when Wren stole the fighter . Several death troopers then assisted Governor Pryce and Rukh in pursuing General Hera Syndulla when Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus rescued her from the Imperial complex . The death troopers were then able to catch to Jarrus and Syndulla . Several death troopers then accompanied Minister Veris Hydan as the Empire and Mining guild were excavating Lothal ' s Jedi Temple . They then assisted Hydan in interrogating Sabine Wren , striking her in the head . However , Sabine was then able to knock one out when Captain Garazeb Orrelios rescued her . One year later , death troopers would continue to escort Krennic during the Death Star ' s initial testing stage at Jedha and during his trip to Eadu . Krennic would later deploy his Death trooper squad during the Battle of Scarif when they fought against Rebel ground forces that had managed to infiltrate the planet . They managed to annihilate the remnants of the Rebel strike team . However , the entire squad was killed by Baze Malbus and Cassian Andor shortly before Krennic ' s death . Training . Death troopers were elite stormtrooper s in the Galactic Empire ' s military . Stormtrooper candidates who excelled at their training were reassigned to the advanced death trooper camp on Scarif . They were required to exceed traditional stormtrooper standards , including height and weight , and had to meet certain ideological standards . The candidates were also subjected to a battery of physical tests and classified surgical enhancements , making them " beyond human " . Additionally , death troopers had to complete more rigorous training than standard stormtroopers , including training in exotic environments . They were mostly assigned to small groups , with each trooper specializing in a specific skill set . Shortly before the Battle of Scarif , General Sotorus Ramda requested to be returned two platoon s of death troopers , as the training camp on Scarif needed more instructor s . Ramda preferred veteran death troopers with body augmentations at v1 . 01 or earlier . Equipment . Death troopers were equipped with armor that was much more advanced than standard stormtrooper armor . The helmet had a number of advanced sensor and targeting systems to give them total situational awareness of combat areas , enemies and allies . These various upgrades to the helmet systems included a Neuro - Saav macromotion monitor , multi - frequency targeting and acquisition sensors and image - intensifying active pulse emitters . Their armor was also covered by a spray polymer called reflec , which warped electromagnetic signals commonly found in sensor arrays . This made death troopers well suited for stealth operations . Death troopers were equipped with a variety of weapons depending on their specialities including the SE - 14r light repeating blaster s , E - 11D s , DLT - 19D heavy blaster rifle s , C - 25 fragmentation grenade s and Sonic Imploder s . Behind the scenes . The first footage of the death trooper was shown in the " " teaser trailer on April 7 , 2016 . According to the " Us Magazine Collector ' s Edition - Star Wars Rogue One " article " Going Rogue " , the death troopers were comparable to and inspired by the .