The Gamma-class Assault Shuttle came about because of a design flaw discovered in the Beta-class Assault Shuttle, that being modular bays. Unlike the Beta-class, the Gamma-class employs a permanent-use Spacetrooper bay and as a result requires refitting only once every five years. This Assault Shuttle has been in service some time before the Battle of Yavin, as the first Death Star carried 3,600 of these craft. Most Imperial-class Star Destroyers carry at least one Gamma-class, along with its associated Spacetrooper platoon. In the case of other ships however, Gammas are only supplied as mission requirements dictate and if they are available.

    This design is capable of engaging capital ships more than three times its length, thanks to the amount of power the Gamma allocates to its shields. While most capital ships allocate around 25 percent of their total power to shields, the Gamma funnels up to 62 percent, with over half going into the forward arc. And because of this, the Gamma can weather even the most concentrated barrages for at least a short while. Not only do Gammas ferry Spacetrooper aboard engaged enemy ships, they also regularly engage capital ships. In normal boarding operations, the Gamma will latch onto the target with either its tractor beams or magnetic harpoons. From there, the crew may decide to cripple the target with a few well placed shots from its concussion missiles or laser cannons (or ion cannons). At this point, the shuttle unleashes its Spacetroopers to seize control of the target and becomes a field support station for its Spacetroopers. The Gamma-class Assault Shuttle is one of the most heavily shielded and armoured craft in the Imperial Navy.

    Three sections compose this assault shuttle; command, Spacetrooper bay (main body), and engineering. The cockpit is mostly surrounded by an armoured transparisteel viewport with four flight crew stations, and a command console situated behind those stations. Cockpit boarding hatches are found on either side (right below the viewport). From this position the command crew operates the shuttle and monitors the Spacetroopers' progress. Access to the main bay can come either from the cockpit or from two boarding hatches on either side at forward end and two boarding hatches on either side at the aft end. Below the Spacetrooper launch ports (which fold-away to open) are the Kel-Mar Steady-State Power Couplers which store and recharge their armour. There are ten port, ten starboard, and 20 dorsal launch ports; effectively one port per trooper. Meanwhile, the engineering section holds the power generators and engines.

    Unfortunately, the Empire is not the exclusive user of this design. The Rebels possess Gamma-class Assault Shuttles as they have captured from the Empire. It is also known that three years after the disaster at Endor, pirates such as Woern's Pirates possessed a single Gamma that they modified. They obtained it after finding it nearly destroyed from a battle, although no Spacetrooper armour was found onboard.