L17-E Squad Transport Units, L17-Es, or Canned Droids in Clone Trooper slang, were small repulsorlift vehicles used by the CIS during the separatist crisis and the clone wars.
Characteristics[]
Early design[]
When L17-Es were first made, they were basically boxes of 2.05 meters in height and 3 meters in length. They also had short, flexible legs of 10cm to reduce the impact to the passengers when the Unit landed. The exhaust ran along the entire back wall. It was 5cm tall and 10cm long. The control panel was merely a small box with a hole. Both B1 and B2 battle droids could control the Unit by inserting their ‘hand’ into the hole. The only defense that the early L17-Es had was small openings in the walls which passengers could fire out of. These could be closed if necessary.
Later improvement[]
After the separatist crisis, L17-Es were adapted, acquiring several weapons. These included: 2 ‘chin’ blaster rifles; 3 blaster rifles at the back (one pointing straight, the other two diagonally); a chaingun at the front; and a rocket on the right hand side. Another adaptation was the addition of a more advanced control panel so that organics could operate L17-Es. L17-Es were never able to exit a planet’s atmosphere, so always had to be transported using larger ships.
Inside[]
The basic layout of the inside of an L17-E was: a door on the left; six seats at the back; a collapsible driver’s seat in front of the control panel; and several small openings to shoot out of.
Usage and strategy[]
L17-Es were designed to carry up to seven troops (including the pilot) quickly around battlefields. After their weapons had been added, they were sometimes used to pick off small sets of Clone Troopers, though this was very rare. A popular strategy among CIS commanders, particularly Durge and Unit 933, was to deploy 10 at a time in the same place. As this technique added up to 70 Battle Droids to the field very quickly, it could be used to get the upper hand in an even battle, secure victory in a winning battle, or even out the odds in a losing battle.