Star Wars: That Time Rian Johnson Thought He Could Make A Better AT-AT : The AT-M6 Breakdown
It certainly doesn’t have a better name. But come and look at the All Terrain MegaCaliber Six (AT-M6), aka the Gorilla Walker.
The war engines of the Galactic Imperium are a subject of veneration for the First Order. The First Order rose up in the wake of the Empire, and attempted to borrow the Empire’s aesthetic at every turn.
And while some have compared the First Order to a child, trying to dress like a parent in order to impress…someone, the First Order often combined their own sensibilities with Imperial aesthetics.
The results are mixed, at best. The First Order managed to produce TIE Fighters that combine the form factor of a TIE Fighter with the expense of an X-Wing, making it harder to mass-produce. They made Star Destroyers bigger and less heavily armed, for some reason. But then there are the improvements the First Order made.
While they are few and far between, arguably one of the improvements is the First Order Heavy Assault Walker. Better known as the Gorilla Walker, the AT-M6 was the biggest walker in the First Order’s arsenal.
AT-M6 Walker Design
The First Order’s design aesthetic can be summarized as “bigger is better,” and “more is more.” The All Terrain MegaCaliber Six is the embodiment of this philosophy. Designed by Kuat-Entralla Drive Yards, this combat walker towered over the classic AT-ATs of the Empire. Designed for specialist First Order Walker Drivers, the AT-M6 was outfitted with as much firepower as Kuat-Entralla could pack onto its lumbering frame.
The AT-M6 boasted two sets of heavy fire-linked dual laser cannons, as well as two sets of medium anti-ship laser cannons. And, learning from its forebears, two sets of serrated cable cutters. But perhaps the most notable weapon was the MegaCaliber Six turbolaser cannon. This weapon gives the AT-M6 its name.
A single MegaCaliber Six turbolaser cannon was capable of extreme firepower. Kuat-Entralla put their best weapons designers on the project. They designed the M6 to penetrate the heavy shields of an enemy base. A single M6 cannon was capable of taking out heavily fortified bunkers.
En masse, the AT-M6 walkers could obliterate even the hardiest Resistance Base.
History of the AT-M6
As the Galactic Empire collapsed, the First Order retreated, seeking a successor to the AT-AT. They found Kuat-Entralla’s engineers all too willing to push the bounds of combat walker design. And with a near limitless design spec, who can blame them? The First Order expected the AT-M6 to be a bulwark of their forces. Because of this, the AT-M6 was unfettered. Kuat-Entralla gave the AT-M6 the heaviest armor and weapons it could muster.
But for all that, the technological terror of the AT-M6 was no match for the power of the Force.
May the Force be with you
