The AT-RT was manufactured together with the AT-ET. In the history of miltary walkers of the Empire, these two walkers were the Empire's first attempt for a two-legged medium walker, quite soem time before the events of Hoth. Both walkers are the driect predecessor of the well-known All-Terrain Scout Walker (AT-ST), which was the result of the the two variants. Both walkers were designed for souting and renaissance duty, and thus are known as the Scout-series of Imperial walkers. But unlike the later AT-ST, these walkers were equipped with superiour gyro systems allowing them to run faster and giving them a better manueverability, but making these walkers taller than the standard.
As being designed for speed, the AT-RT and AT-ET did not feature a large weapons complement and were both equipped with only one heavy laser cannon, which was front-mounted. This "weak point" induced the Empire to make a compromise between speed, maneuverability and weaponry - the AT-ST, being more compact and featuring more weapons. Besides its role of scouting the AT-ST was also able to provide flank cover for larger walkers like, the AT-AT.
Standing about 12 meters tall, and being very maneuverable, the AT-RT provides a good overview over most terrains to the crew, consisting of one pilot and one gunner/co-pilot. It's superiour leg construction allows the walker to move very quickly even on very difficult terrains, and is therefore used by the Empire to scout through jungles and forests. The walker's head is quite large (5.4 meters long) and can carry up to 500 kilograms of cargo and two passengers. The cargo space is usually used to carry special scouting equipment and survival gear in case that the crew has to leave the walker. The AT-RT is also equipped with thick armor, and thus compensates the lack of more weaponry.
The walkers' superiour gyro systems are very tall, thus the walker's heads are very high above the ground. To safely bring the troopers to the ground, the walker moves as near as possible to the ground (allowed by the highly maneuverable gyro systems). Then the crew uses either rope ladders to go down the remaining distance to the ground, or they use jetpacks, which are carried by each walker. The jetpacks reveal another advantage: When the troopers are equipped with jetpacks, they can help to cover a much larger area for scouting missions.
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| Stats: | Christopher Deck |
| Illustration: | Al Williamson, Classic Star Wars |