HK Series, HK-47

The HK series assassin droid, also known as the HK series protocol droid, is a combination of an assassin droid and protocol droid. The series designation stands for "Hunter Killer," befitting their primary functions as assassins. They are manufactured by Czerka Corporation. Their ability to perform the functions of a protocol droid became a major reason for their unmatched lethality, as they could and would often act as normal (if quite sinister looking) protocol droids, thus concealing their true function and allowing them to get closer to intended targets. HK series assassin droids are equipped with an integrated emergency shield and jet pack.

Assassin droids are a type of droid built specifically for the purpose of assassination. These droids generally perform with unflinching loyalty to their masters, but rogue assassin droids are not unknown. Since their missions generally require a far higher degree of independent skill, savvy, and judgment than normally possessed by simple war droids, their programming subroutines, circuitry, and memory cores are of correspondingly higher sophistication. Equipped with an array of weapons, assassin droids are also used as elite infantry when the need for skillful and quickly adaptable soldiers with unquestionable loyalty arises. An inordinate number of assassin droids have achieved sentient independence, including IG-88 and C-3PX, presumably due to the higher level of autonomy incorporated into their processor design. These droids typically fund their independent existences through the use of their innate abilities, often plying their trade as bounty hunters.