In Season 3 of The Mandalorian, I couldn’t help but notice Moff Gideon surrounded by an elite group of troopers. Their imposing presence immediately made me wonder—who are they, and what makes them so formidable? It’s something I’ve been thinking about ever since, and I know I’m not the only one asking these questions.
In this article, I’ll break down everything we know about these new troopers.
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Imperial Armored Commando
As I mentioned earlier, the new troopers we see in The Mandalorian Season 3 are completely different from anything we’ve seen during the Empire era. These are the Imperial Armored Commandos.
The first thing that really caught my eye about these troopers was their armor. It’s nothing like what we’ve seen before with the Empire’s forces—whether it was Clone Troopers, Stormtroopers, or even Imperial Death Troopers. The Imperial Armored Commandos were created by Moff Gideon during his time on Mandalore, and because they were made there, their armor was built entirely out of beskar. Yeah, you read that right—beskar from head to toe.
Their helmets are also a standout feature. They’ve got a T-visor that feels like a mix between Mandalorian helmets and Phase II Clone Trooper designs. On top of that, the sides of the helmet have two artificial air-supply hoses, which probably function like the ventilation systems in Stormtrooper helmets.
When it comes to the armor itself, we don’t have a ton of information yet, but it’s clearly inspired by Mandalorian designs. Knowing Moff Gideon, he probably told his people to replicate the Mandalorian aesthetic. And since it’s made of beskar, these guys can block blaster shots and possibly even lightsabers—just like Din Djarin’s armor.
As for the rest of their gear, it’s clear that Moff Gideon wanted these troopers to be as close to Mandalorian warriors as possible. They’ve got vambraces on both arms, equipped with flamethrowers and whipcord launchers—classic Mandalorian tools.
The Imperial Armored Commando Looks Similar to Imperial Super Commando
The first thing these new troopers from Moff Gideon reminded me of was the Imperial Super Commandos. They’re similar but not the same. The Imperial Super Commandos we saw in Star Wars: Rebels were actual Mandalorian soldiers who chose to side with the Empire. Meanwhile, the Imperial Armored Commandos are a different story.
We don’t have a lot of solid info on who or what Imperial Armored Commando are yet, but based on the series, it seems like they could be clones. Remember The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 7 (“Chapter 23: The Spies”)? That’s when Moff Gideon deployed his beskar-armored commandos to ambush the Mandalorians on Mandalore. In the same episode, we see Gideon walking through his secret base filled with cloning tanks, which strongly suggests he’s been working on creating a new clone army.
Rank Differences Among the New Imperial Armored Commandos
If you pay close attention in The Mandalorian, you’ll notice that the Imperial Armored Commandos in the series have two distinct color schemes. The standard troopers wear armor with a mix of white, gray, and brown tones. In contrast, there are others with red accents, including red-painted vambraces, leg armor, and red stripes along the sides of their helmets. For example, the two commandos escorting Moff Gideon had this red-enhanced design.
This difference in coloration might indicate rank. The ones with red accents could hold a higher rank than the standard white and gray troopers. This idea lines up with what we saw with Governor Tiber Saxon in the Rebels series, where his Imperial Super Commando armor featured red and white accents, signifying his higher rank compared to the regular commandos.
