The spotter used several sensors to locate objectives, units, and geographical features, which were then relayed to the four gunners nestled in the armored hull of the walker. The AT-TE had a crew of six highly trained clones. AT-TEs had an effective range of 500 km and they could carry enough supplies to keep the crew fed for three weeks. It could be effective in almost any terrain including cliffs and asteroids. The AT-TE could penetrate energy shields, something that repulsorlift vehicles couldn't do. The AT-TE was impervious to ion damage due to electomagnetic shielding. They could even provide heavy artillery support for battalions of soldiers. The AT-TE could complete many different tasks ranging from transporting platoons of clone troopers to attacking enemy installations.
It was the standard armored vehicle for the army. Still the Imperial Army and Stormtrooper Corps pressed ahead with its reorganisation ( ) and after two years production was proceeding apace with the AT-SW becoming the standard combat walker of the Imperial military whilst the AT-AT was finally moved into its Mechanized infantry role that it was designed for.The All Terrain Tactical Enforcer, better known simply as an AT-TE, was a large vehicle used by the Grand Army of the Republic. Unfortunately the AT-SW was also very expensive to produce thanks to its various unique systems and whilst cost was never really an issue in the Empire, the budgetary wrangling between the Army, Navy and Stormtrooper Corps initially saw production levels of the AT-SW never even come close to those of the AT-AT and AT-ST. Still it made these potent walkers very hard hitting and very hard to kill targets.
The shield generator made the AT-SW an exceptionally hard target to kill, even if once the shield was down, its regeneration rate could politely be described as abysmal. But the AT-SW’s most impressive defensive feature was the shield generator installed next to the powerplant. Like the AT-TE and AT-AT the AT-SW used energy absorbing armour that would rob blows of their thermal and concussive impact, dissipating it across a wide area and greatly reducing the punch of a weapon hitting it.
For point defence and to protect its more vulnerable underside (a significant weakness with the AT-AT) a dual light repeating blaster and a single rapid firing grenade launcher were fitted under the vehicles chin and both weapon systems had a wide arc of fire, preventing any brave or suicidal infantry from attacking the walkers belly or legs in close terrain. Dual heavy and light blaster cannons gave it a similar punch to the AT-AT whilst a pair of multi-shot rocket launchers allowed the AT-SW to unleash a barrage of explosive rounds towards targets and smother an area with explosions. With no troops onboard and a crew of four (gunner, driver, commander, electronics/radio operator) the AT-SW devoted its entire bulk towards weapons and protection.
Its powerful reverse joint legs and the latest in hydralic and non-organic fibres allowed the AT-SW to reach over 80kph and it was considerably more agile than the AT-AT, able to turn very quickly unlike the AT-AT which had to lumber round in a slow circle. Unlike the AT-AT the AT-SW was a bipedal design and was smaller than the AT-AT giving it a smaller profile head on and from the flanks. What the Ground forces wanted, was a dedicated combat unit.ĭeveloped on Caridia by KDY what would emerge from the testing grounds on the Stormtrooper training world was a deadly addition to the Imperial military. As the AT-AT also served primarily as an infantry carrier it was neither fox nor fowl, and was felt to be a jack of all trades. Whilst tougher and better protected and far more intimidating, the AT-TE was also more flexible, smaller and more stable as well as being more agile than the lumbering AT-AT. The versatile and flexible AT-TE was being retired or put into garrison duty and away from frontline forces whilst many Army Officers and Corps Commanders felt that the AT-AT was a rather poor replacement for the AT-TE. Whilst the Imperial Navy was growing as was the Stormtrooper Corps, the number of ground vehicles available to them was shrinking. The AT-SW came about after four years of research and development as well as hundreds of simulations and trials.