Death troopers were an elite variant of the Galactic Empire's Stormtrooper that were a part of the Empire's Military Intelligence which focused on issues regarding the Imperial Navy . They wore black suits of armor. A squad of death troopers served under Director Orson Krennic's command, wielded as his personal weapon against the Rebel Alliance. They were sometimes assigned to protect other high ranking personnel and were also present for the theft of the Death Star plans at the beginning of the Galactic Civil War. Death troopers were known to wield blaster rifles similar to the E-11, blaster pistols similar to the SE-14C, and long-range blaster rifles similar to the DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle.