Death Troopers are a special type of black armored Stormtroopers that appear in the 2016Star Wars movie Rogue One. They serve as part of the Military Intelligence of both the Galactic Empire and the First Order, and are most known to wield DLT-19 heavy blaster rifles. Their moniker was inspired by Emperor Palpatine's failed attempt to achieve immortality through use of a virus (Project Blackwing) that turned its victims into undead monsters. As Death Troopers were extremely skilled in combat and left few witnesses in their wake, this was an apt name. Death Troopers were the elite commandos of the Empire, and were trained in unarmed combat, sniping, and heavy weapons. They were also exceptionally good at covering their tracks, making them perfect for black-ops missions.
Their helmets had encrypted comm systems, which allowed them to be understood only by each other. To anyone else, their speech came off as a string of garbled static noises.
A legion of Death Troopers specifically act as bodyguards to Orson Krennic. The Death Troopers accompany Director Krennic when he visits Galen Erso to recruit him back to the team building the Death Star. When Erso refuses, Krennic orders the Death Troopers to enter the Erso house to search for Galen's family. Before they can reach the house, however, Erso's wife Lyra approaches and draws a gun. On Krennic's behalf, she is executed by the Death Troopers who also take Galen with them. Although they search for Galen's daughter Jyn, they cannot find her and are forced to leave the planet without her.
Years later, the Death Troopers are dispatched by Krennic to aid the Imperial Stormtroopers in the battle of Scarif. Theiy deployment turns the battle in favor of the Empire and the rebel forces attacking the Imperial base are annihilated. The Death Troopers who survive the battle are killed when Grand Moff Tarkin fires the Death Star at Scarif, destroying the base and everything around it.
The Death Troopers appear in the third season finale of Star Wars Rebels, "Zero Hour". The troopers reappear in the fourth and final season. In the second part of "In the Name of the Rebellion", a squadron of Death Troopers, led by Commander DT-F16, were guarding a huge Kyber crystal when Saw Gerrera, accompanied by Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren breech the fragile cargo. Sabine and Gerrera quickly killed the others, and Commander DT-F16 was the only one who got away to alert captain the freighter. She was later killed when the Kyber crystal blew up.
Moff Gideon was a squadron of Death Troopers under his command. Unlike other Death Troopers, Gideon's troopers were droids that were indestructible. Din Djarin and his allies fought against the Death Troopers as they attempted to rescue Grogu. Jedi Master Luke Skywalker came to their rescue and destroyed all of the Death Troopers with his lightsaber.
According to the Us Magazine Collector's Edition - Star Wars Rogue One article Going Rogue, the Death Troopers are comparable to the United States Navy SEALs.
Death Troopers on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki
Imperial Death Troopers on StarWars.com (backup link on Archive.org)
