The armor of the Shadow Trooper is solid black, with gray stripes and insignias on the separate pieces. Another unique trait of this clone variant is its red-tinted visor. Other than the coloring, the average Shadow Trooper's armor closely resembles an average clone trooper's gear near the end of the Clone Wars. Magnetic seals were installed in the armor that allowed cosmetic changes so an individual Shadow Trooper could infiltrate groups of bandits, Hutt-sponsored mercenaries or bounty hunters without being recognized as a Republic clone.
Shadow Troopers were specially created for secretive, stealth missions of high importance. Some of the many roles these elite clone soldiers carried out over the course of the Clone Wars include spies, snipers and infiltration. They were extremely adept at mingling with dangerous characters to obtain information for the Republic. Shadow Troopers inspired several variants of Storm Trooper after the Galactic Empire took hold of the Republic and the galaxy at large because of their effectiveness.
Although they were not seen in "Star Wars Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith," Shadow Trooper scouts played a pivotal role in the Battle of Utapau. Shortly after General Kenobi contacted the Republic to send clone forces to Utapau to face the CIS stronghold, Shadow Troopers penetrated the Droid defenses to place jammers designed to allow the Republic to approach the planet unseen. Since the Shadow Troopers were completely overlooked, the Battle of Utapau was a massive success for the Republic, which chased CIS leadership off the sinkhole world.
Since the Shadow Troopers were an extraordinarily valuable subsection of the clone army, they were presented with the most advanced technology to complete their assignments. A particularly impressive piece of equipment is the DC-19 "Stealth" carbine, which fires invisible blaster bolts as opposed to bright red or blue shots. A special feature in their armor can be set to send out a jamming signal to confuse scanners as to what affiliation and species the Shadow Troopers are.